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Tag: death and dying

  • Hong Kong hit by widespread flash flooding after heaviest rainfall since 1884 | CNN

    Hong Kong hit by widespread flash flooding after heaviest rainfall since 1884 | CNN

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    Hong Kong
    CNN
     — 

    Record-breaking rainfall in Hong Kong caused widespread flash flooding across the financial hub on Friday, with many businesses and schools forced to shut, just days after the city was battered by a typhoon.

    The deluge began late Thursday night, with the Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) recording more than 158 millimeters in rain between 11 p.m. and midnight, the highest hourly rainfall since records began in 1884, the government said in a news release.

    The weather bureau issued the highest “black” rainstorm warning and urged people to stay indoors and find shelter, warning the rain could bring flash floods, and that residents near rivers should consider evacuating.

    Photos and videos Friday show parts of the city underwater, with cars struggling through flooded roads, and people wading through murky brown floodwaters. Authorities had to rescue some drivers stuck in partially submerged vehicles; some parking lots were so flooded car roofs were only just visible above the water.

    A shopping mall floods during heavy rain in Hong Kong on September 8, 2023.

    Footage widely shared online showed a subway station in the northern district of Wong Tai Sin submerged in waist-high water, with floodwater gushing down the stairs. Train services to several stops on the same subway line have been suspended “due to flooding in the section near Wong Tai Sin station,” said the city’s subway operator.

    While most other subway operations remain open, bus, tram and ferry services have suspended across the city due to the flooding, according to public broadcaster RTHK.

    Early Friday morning, the government announced all schools would also be suspended, and urged businesses to allow non-essential employees to stay in safe places instead of going to the workplace.

    A bus drives through a flooded area in Hong Kong on September 8, 2023.

    The flooding comes just one week after Hong Kong was lashed by its strongest typhoon in five years. Typhoon Saola, originally a super typhoon, weakened to the equivalent of a Category 2 hurricane as it reached Hong Kong – but was still potent enough to knock down trees and cause hundreds of flight cancellations. Eighty-six people were injured from the typhoon, the government said.

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  • The daughter of the woman killed by Pennsylvania prison escapee Danelo Cavalcante told police he said he was going ‘to do something bad’ to their lives | CNN

    The daughter of the woman killed by Pennsylvania prison escapee Danelo Cavalcante told police he said he was going ‘to do something bad’ to their lives | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    The prisoner who is now the subject of a massive manhunt after escaping from a Pennsylvania prison last week had killed his ex-girlfriend in a brutal 2021 stabbing in front of her two young children, authorities say.

    Danelo Souza Cavalcante, a 34-year-old who was convicted just last month in the killing, escaped from the Chester County Prison some 30 miles west of Philadelphia on Thursday morning, sparking a search involving hundreds of officers.

    Investigators believe he escaped the facility by climbing onto the roof and fleeing from there, a law enforcement source told CNN.

    The manhunt’s range expanded Tuesday morning after he was spotted in trail camera footage in Chester County, just south of the perimeter authorities originally believed him to be in. Two school districts canceled classes amid the search.

    Cavalcante is a Brazil native who is roughly 5 feet tall with long, curly black hair and brown eyes, authorities have said. He is extremely dangerous and desperate not to get caught, officials have warned, and they’ve urged residents in areas near the prison to keep their doors locked, stay inside, check on each other and check their security cameras.

    Cavalcante also is wanted in a 2017 homicide case in Brazil, according to the US Marshals Service.

    Authorities are offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.

    Here’s what we know about him.

    Prosecutors say Deborah Brandão, Cavalcante’s ex-girlfriend, was outside her home with her two children on April 18, 2021.

    Cavalcante arrived, grabbed her by her hair, “threw her to the ground, and stabbed her 38 times in virtually every vital organ … causing her to bleed to death,” the Chester County district attorney’s office said in a Facebook post.

    Deborah Brandão is seen here in an undated picture.

    Brandão’s 7- and 4-year-old children ran to neighbors asking for help and Cavalcante fled, the district attorney’s office said.

    The 7-year-old girl told police that when Cavalcante began stabbing Brandão, he said he was going to kill her, court records show.

    He was arrested several hours later in Virginia, prosecutors said. Authorities believe he was attempting to flee to Mexico with the intention of heading later to Brazil, District Attorney Deb Ryan has said.

    Schuylkill Township police were dispatched to the home at roughly 4:17 p.m. on the day of the killing, and found Brandão on the ground “with multiple stab wounds to the chest,” the district attorney’s office said.

    A neighbor attempted lifesaving procedures on Brandão while they waited for emergency medical services to arrive, but she was pronounced dead at a hospital shortly after.

    She was 33.

    After the stabbing, Brandão’s 7-year-old daughter told police Cavalcante showed up at their house and “said he was going to do something bad to their lives and pulled two knives out from a black bag that was behind his back,” according to a probable cause affidavit.

    The daughter said she was screaming and Cavalcante threw a rock at her, hitting her leg, police wrote in the affidavit.

    After running to the neighbor for help, the girl looked outside and saw Cavalcante leave in a black car, the documents said.

    Brandão had filed a protection from abuse order against Cavalcante in December 2020, according to the probable cause affidavit. The order alleges he had a history of assaulting Brandão and previously pulled a knife on her.

    “This was a senseless tragedy that has impacted countless people due to the defendant’s cold, calculated, and heinous actions,” Ryan, who led Cavalcante’s prosecution, said last month.

    “Ms. Brandão’s children are now left motherless and she will never have the opportunity to watch her children grow up, finish school, or have families of their own,” the district attorney said.

    Brandão’s daughter testified in the case and “helped obtain justice for her mother,” the district attorney said. The girl also identified Cavalcante in a photograph shortly after the killing and told police, “That’s him, that’s the guy that killed my mom. Please get him and put him in prison,” the affidavit shows.

    On August 16, 2023, Cavalcante was convicted of first-degree murder and possessing an instrument of crime in the killing, according to the district attorney’s office. Just days later, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, the office said.

    Attorneys for Cavalcante told jurors during the trial that he was provoked and “snapped” when he attacked Brandão, and said he acted in the heat of passion, according to the Chester County newspaper Daily Local.

    Officials are searching for 34-year-old Danelo Cavalcante, who broke out of the Chester County Prison at around 8:50AM Thursday, according to the Chester County District Attorney's office.

    ‘His depravity knows no bounds’: Chester County DA on escaped murderer

    While officers continued their search for Cavalcante over the weekend, authorities urged residents in Pocopson Township, which is next to the prison, to stay in their homes.

    Danelo Cavalcante is seen in this image from surveillance footage released by Pennsylvania State Police.

    “Lock your doors. Lock your cars. He is still considered an extremely dangerous individual,” Ryan, the district attorney, said in a Saturday news conference.

    “People need to be on high alert. … He has killed someone. He’s alleged to have killed another person. So people need to take every precaution possible: Lock your doors, keep your eyes on your kids and keep your eyes on your neighbors and your friends,” Ryan had said a day earlier. “Everyone needs to be on high alert.”

    Since his escape, there have been “several credible sightings” of him in an area within the township, Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said in a Tuesday morning news conference.

    Surveillance footage on Monday also captured Cavalcante in Longwood Gardens, a popular tourist attraction just south of the area authorities were searching near the prison, prompting the search area to shift, Bivens said.

    The escapee also appeared to have obtained some items, including a backpack, a “duffel-sling type pack” and a hooded sweatshirt, Bivens said.

    Bivens added that residents in the area should be alert, use caution and be aware of their surroundings.

    “We’re asking them to lock their vehicles, if they don’t ordinarily do that,” he added. “And pay attention to what’s going on, pay attention to your neighbors, anything that’s unusual there. … But really, it’s vigilance that we’re looking for from people right now.”

    “He’s clearly in escape mode, but he’s desperate,” Bivens said. “His history is that he’s a dangerous individual. … If we identify that he’s in a very specific area, my recommendation then would be, ‘Stay in your homes.’”

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  • Death investigated at Burning Man while 70,000 festival attendees remain stuck in Nevada desert after rain | CNN

    Death investigated at Burning Man while 70,000 festival attendees remain stuck in Nevada desert after rain | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Authorities are investigating a death at the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert as thousands of people remain trapped on site after heavy rains inundated the area and created thick, ankle-deep mud which sticks to campers’ shoes and vehicle tires.

    Attendees were told to shelter in place in the Black Rock Desert and conserve food, water and fuel after a rainstorm swamped the area, forcing officials to halt any entering or leaving of the festival.

    “A little over 70,000 people,” remained stranded Saturday, Sgt. Nathan Carmichael, with the Pershing County Sheriff’s Office, told CNN Sunday morning. Some people have left the site by walking out but “most of the RVs are stuck in place,” he said.

    On Sunday morning, event organizers said roads remained closed as they were “too wet and muddy” and more uncertain weather was likely on the way. While some vehicles were able to leave, others got stuck in the mud, organizers said on the event’s website.

    “Please do NOT drive at this time,” they added. “We will update you on the driving ban after this weather front has left the area.”

    The remote area in northwest Nevada was hit with 2 to 3 months’ worth of rain – up to 0.8 inches – in just 24 hours between Friday and Saturday morning. The heavy rainfall fell on dry desert grounds, whipping up thick, clay-like mud festivalgoers said was too difficult to walk or bike through.

    The sheriff’s office said it is investigating “a death which occurred during this rain event.” Authorities did not publicly name the person or provide details on the circumstances of the death.

    “The family has been notified and the death is under investigation,” the sheriff’s office said in a late Saturday news release.

    The individual was found on the playa and lifesaving procedures to revive them were not successful, Carmichael said Sunday, but did not share further details.

    Playa is the term used to describe sunken dry lake beds in deserts where water evaporates rather than running off, and even a small amount of rain can quickly soak a large area.

    Event organizers said they plan to burn the Man – the huge totem set on fire at the festival’s culmination – on Sunday night, if weather allows.

    The rainy conditions forecast over the area for Sunday afternoon had mostly passed to the east of the festival site, according to a social media post from organizers, though there is still a chance of showers and thunderstorms “for the rest of daylight hours” into the evening.

    Drone video shows vehicles stranded and stuck at Burning Man

    Authorities have not provided information on when roads could reopen, but the sunshine is expected to return Monday.

    Burning Man attendees walk through the mud on Saturday.

    “We do not currently have an estimated time for the roads to be dry enough for RVs or vehicles to navigate safely,” Burning Man organizers said in a Saturday evening statement. “Monday late in the day would be possible if weather conditions are in our favor. It could be sooner.”

    Organizers noted the rain falling on an already saturated playa overnight and Sunday “will affect the amount of time it takes for the playa to dry.”

    For now, the gate and airport into Black Rock City remain closed and no driving is allowed into or out of the city except for emergency vehicles, the organizers said on social media. Black Rock City is a temporary metropolis erected annually for the festival and comes complete with emergency, safety and sanitary infrastructure.

    The rain “made it virtually impossible for motorized vehicles to traverse the playa,” the Pershing County Sheriff’s Office said, noting people were advised to shelter in place until the ground has dried enough to drive on safely.

    Vehicles trying to drive out will get stuck in the mud, Burning Man organizers said Saturday. “It will hamper Exodus if we have cars stuck on roads in our camping areas, or on the Gate Road out of the city,” the organizers added.

    “If you are in BRC, please shelter in place & stay safe,” organizers said.

    Storms and heavy rains across Nevada flooded other parts of the state and may have led to another death. In Las Vegas, authorities found a person unresponsive and “entangled with debris,” on Saturday morning who is believed to be “a drowning victim,” according to Jace Radke, a spokesperson for the city. An investigation is ongoing, Radke said in a news release.

    Dawn brought muddy realization to the Burning Man encampment, where the exit gates remain closed indefinitely because driving is virtually impossible.

    Some festivalgoers hiked miles on foot in the thick mud to reach main roads while others stayed at their camps, hoping for conditions to improve.

    Hannah Burhorn, a first-time attendee at the festival, told CNN people were trudging through the mud barefoot or with bags tied around their feet.

    “People who have tried to bike through it and have gotten stuck because it’s about ankle deep,” Burhorn said. The mud is so thick it “sticks to your shoes and makes it almost like a boot around your boot,” she added.

    It’s unclear exactly how many people are stranded at the festival, but typically more than 70,000 people attend the weeklong event. It’s being held from August 28 to September 4 this year.

    There weren’t any reports of injuries as of Saturday afternoon, Sean Burke, the director of emergency management for Pershing County, told CNN.

    Amar Singh Duggal and his friends managed to leave the festival after hiking about 2 miles in the mud, he told CNN. He estimated it took them about 2 hours to get to a main road where they arranged to be picked up and taken to Reno, about a 120-mile drive from the event grounds.

    Heavy rain covered the ground with thick mud at Burning Man in Black Rock Desert.

    “We made it, but it was pure hell (walking) through the mud,” Duggal said. “Each step felt like we were walking with two big cinder blocks on our feet.”

    Among those attending the festival was DJ Diplo and comedian Chris Rock.

    Rock posted a video on Instagram of thick mud and Diplo posted a series of videos in which he said a fan offered him and Rock a ride out of the site.

    The DJ said they walked several miles and were able to get to a nearby airport.

    Meanwhile, attendees who typically dedicate their time to making art and building community are now also focused on rationing supplies and dealing with connectivity issues.

    “There is super limited bandwidth and a lot of people at the camp (are) trying to cancel flights and arrange for extended time here” due to the weather, Burhorn told CNN via text message from a Wi-Fi camp.

    A still from a drone video shows vehicles trying to leave the Burning Man festival on Sunday, September 3.

    Still, the poor conditions have not stopped the creativity, said Burhorn, who had traveled from San Francisco.

    “People are building mud sculptures,” she said.

    Andrew Hyde, another attendee stuck at the Burning Man, said despite the muddy conditions making it difficult to walk, the weather has taken the meaning of the event back to its roots.

    “You come out here to be in a harsh climate, and you prepare for that,” Hyde told CNN’s Paula Newton. “So in many ways, everybody here just kind of made friends with their neighbors and it’s a community event.”

    Morale at the event is OK and there’s generally no panic among the attendees, Hyde said, describing music returning overnight.

    There are worries about the additional rain causing delays, however, and the unknowns of worsening conditions.

    “I think the concern is if we have another rain,” he said. “People need to go back to their jobs, back to the responsibilities they have back home.”

    A rainbow appears at Burning Man in Black Rock Desert, Nevada, on September 2, 2023.

    Organizers announced Saturday night they’ll be putting mobile cell trailers in different positions, configuring the organization’s Wi-Fi system for public access and deploying buses to nearby Gerlach to take people who might walk off the playa to Reno.

    “This is not likely a 24-hour operation at this time,” the festival said in a statement on its website.

    Organizers are also resourcing four-wheel-drive vehicles and all-terrain tires to help ferry medical and other urgent situations to the blacktop.

    There have been people who managed to walk to a main road and were waiting for transport from the festival organizers Saturday night, the Pershing County Sheriff’s Office said.

    Resources have been brought in from around northern Nevada to help people with medical needs on the event grounds, the sheriff’s office said.

    “Burning Man is a community of people who are prepared to support one another,” Burning Man said on its website. “We have come here knowing this is a place where we bring everything we need to survive. It is because of this that we are all well-prepared for a weather event like this.”

    “We have done table-top drills for events like this,” organizers added. “We are engaged full-time on all aspects of safety and looking ahead to our Exodus as our next priority.”

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  • Jimmy Buffett, enduring ‘Margaritaville’ singer turned mogul, dies at 76 | CNN

    Jimmy Buffett, enduring ‘Margaritaville’ singer turned mogul, dies at 76 | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Jimmy Buffett, the tropical troubadour whose folksy tunes celebrated his laid-back lifestyle, inspired legions of devoted fans and spawned a lucrative business empire, has died, according to his official website and multiple media outlets.

    He was 76.

    “Jimmy passed away peacefully on the night of September 1st surrounded by his family, friends, music and dogs,” a statement released on his social page reads.

    “He lived his life like a song till the very last breath and will be missed beyond measure by so many,” the statement continued.

    No cause of death was released.

    The singer-songwriter was briefly hospitalized in May following a trip to the Bahamas. “I had to stop in Boston for a checkup but wound up back in the hospital to address some issues that needed immediate attention,” he told his followers in a social media post.

    Buffett posted a day later that he was soon headed home from the hospital, and thanked his followers for the “outpouring of support and well wishes.” He did not share what was ailing him, but said that he’d be going on a “fishing trip with old friends, along with paddling and sailing and get myself back in good shape” upon his return home from the hospital.

    Mourners paid tribute on social media Saturday, including country superstar Kenny Chesney, whose own sun-kissed approach owes a lot to Buffett.

    Chesney tweeted, “So goodbye Jimmy. Thanks for your friendship and the songs I will carry in my heart forever. Sail On Sailor.” And he shared a video of himself singing Buffett’s song “Son of a Son of a Sailor” on a beach.

    “The pirate has passed. RIP Jimmy Buffett. Tremendous influence on so many of us,” wrote Toby Keith.

    Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys wrote, “Love and Mercy, Jimmy Buffett.”

    Elton John wrote on Instagram: “Jimmy Buffett was a unique and treasured entertainer. His fans adored him and he never let them down. This is the saddest of news. A lovely man gone way too soon.”

    Paul McCartney shared his fond memories of Buffett as “one of the kindest and most generous people” on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

    “Right up to the last minute, his eyes still twinkled with a humour that said, ‘I love this world and I’m going to enjoy every minute of it,’” McCartney wrote.

    “So many of us will miss Jimmy and his tremendous personality, his love for us all and for mankind as a whole,” he said.

    Amiable grooves and clever wordplay

    Buffett was born on Christmas Day 1946 in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and raised in the port town of Mobile, Alabama. He moved to Key West, Florida, where he found his voice, his website says.

    One of his first songs to draw attention was “Come Monday,” from his 1974 album “Living & Dying in ¾ Time.”

    Years later he told David Letterman, “This is a song that kept me from killing myself in a Howard Johnson’s in Marin County. It hit, I paid the rent, got my dog out of the pound. … and the rest is history.”

    It notably included the line, “I got my hush puppies on, I guess I never was meant for glitter rock ‘n’ roll,” staking his claim to going his own laid-back way.

    In pictures: Singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett

    An amiable singer-songwriter with a penchant for clever wordplay, Buffett largely ignored pop music trends and was never a hitmaker or an MTV darling. His “Gulf & Western” style married country and Caribbean music.

    He famously put “Margaritaville” on the map in 1977. It was his only Top 10 song and became his signature.

    Its opening lines became instantly identifiable: “Nibbling on spongecake, watching the sun bake, all of the tourists covered with oil …”

    And the chorus has been part of countless singalongs: “Wasted away again in Margaritaville, searching for my lost shaker of salt… Some people claim that there’s a woman to blame, but I know, it’s my own damn fault.”

    Buffett built an enormous cult of fans, affectionately known as “Parrotheads,” after the legendary Deadhead fans of the Grateful Dead.

    “The audience are so much fun for me to look at,” he said. “I mean, they’re as entertaining to me as I hope I am to them.”

    Other must-play concert tunes included “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” “Fins,” “Volcano” and “Why Don’t We Get Drunk.”

    His followers lovingly embraced his vision of life spent in flip-flops, full of beaches, boats, booze and weed.

    “From New Orleans to the Gulf Coast down into St. Barts and other places, I still can find magic in most of those places where people think there isn’t any left,” he said.

    A savvy marketer, Buffett later parlayed the “Margaritaville” mythos to power his career through decades of lucrative concert tours – and branding of restaurants, casinos, retirement communities, bestselling books and even a musical.

    Singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett performs with The Coral Reefer Band at The Omni Coliseum on September 4, 1976 in Atlanta, Georgia.

    His worth was estimated at $1 billion, according to Forbes.

    Buffett, who was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2006, won two Country Music Association awards during his career and was twice nominated for Grammy Awards.

    A rare misstep came with a 2018 Broadway show, “Escape to Margaritaville,” shaped out of his best-known tunes.

    Even the brutal New York Times review noted the irony of Buffett’s slacker image against his staggering success: “Mr. Buffett, Margaritaville’s prototype and mastermind, has a wife and family and 5,000 employees; he works nonstop.”

    Before his death, Buffett was preparing to release a new record, with songs previewed weekly on Radio Margaritaville, according to his website.

    Loyal to his party credo until the end, he left a forthcoming song titled, “My Gummy Just Kicked In.”

    Buffett leaves behind his wife, Jane Slagsvol, and three children.

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  • Ohio police release video of fatal police shooting of pregnant 21-year-old Ta’Kiya Young | CNN

    Ohio police release video of fatal police shooting of pregnant 21-year-old Ta’Kiya Young | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Newly released police body camera footage shows an officer firing through the windshield of a pregnant woman’s car after she was accused of shoplifting at a grocery store in a Columbus, Ohio, suburb last week.

    Ta’kiya Young, 21, was later pronounced dead at a hospital.

    The video shows a Blendon Township police officer approaching Young’s driver’s side window outside a Kroger in Westerville and repeatedly telling her to get out of the car.

    A second officer, who is also wearing a body camera, then steps in front of the vehicle.

    “They said you stole something….get out of the car,” the officer at the window says, telling Young not to leave.

    “I didn’t steal sh*t,” Young can be heard saying as the two argue back and forth with her window slightly ajar.

    Police previously said a grocery store employee had notified police officers a woman who had stolen bottles of alcohol was in a car parked outside the store.

    “Get out of the f**king car,” the officer standing in front of the car says, with his gun drawn and his left hand braced on the hood of the car, the video shows.

    Young can then be seen turning the wheel of the car as the officer next to her window continues to urge her to exit the vehicle.

    “Get out of the f**king car,” the officer in front of the car repeats as the vehicle begins to move slowly forward, the video shows.

    A few seconds elapse and then the officer standing in front of the hood fires into the vehicle.

    After the shot is fired, the officers run alongside the car yelling at the driver to stop.

    The car rolls onto a sidewalk between two brick columns and into a building.

    Police then call for backup and work to break the window to get to the driver, who appears to be slumped over to one side.

    The body camera footage released by the Blendon Township Police Department blurred the faces of the officers. The footage is also edited and spliced together.

    Young was pregnant at the time of her death and the fetus did not survive, the Franklin County Coroner’s Office previously said. Her cause of death is pending.

    Police say the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is conducting an independent investigation of the incident.

    The BCI probe could take “several weeks or months,” according to Steve Irwin, the press secretary for the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, which includes BCI. After investigators finish the examination, their findings will be forwarded to the county prosecutor who will make a decision on pursuing any potential charges, he said.

    “Having viewed the footage in its entirety, it is undeniable that Ta’Kiya’s death was not only avoidable, but also a gross misuse of power and authority,” lawyers representing Young’s family said in a news release.

    “After seeing the video footage of her death, this is clearly a criminal act and the family demands a swift indictment of this officer for the killings of both Ta’Kiyah and her unborn daughter,” they said.

    Police say the officers haven’t “waived their rights as victims” in this incident and are withholding their identities, according to a news release from Blendon Township police.

    “When Ms. Young drove her car directly at Officer #1, striking him, Officer #1 became a victim of attempted vehicular assault,” police said in a news release.

    “When Ms. Young pulled away from Officer #2 while his hand and part of his arm was still in the driver’s side window, Officer #2 became a victim of misdemeanor assault,” they said in the news release.

    Authorities said the officers worked quickly to help Young after the shooting, saying EMS was called 10 seconds after she was taken out of the car. The officer who fired the shot also grabbed a trauma kit and applied a chest seal to her wound in under two minutes after she was removed from the vehicle.

    The officer who fired his weapon is still on administrative leave, but the second officer who was at the window is back at work. Chief John Belford said after he reviewed the videos, he didn’t see a reason to keep the second officer on leave.

    “I returned him to duty, as our staffing is already very limited,” he said, noting both officers would still be subject to a “full administrative review” after the BCI investigation.

    “Last week, there was a tragedy in our community,” Belford said in a statement. Due to potential pending litigation, he says the department is “very limited in what we can say.”

    “We’re being as transparent and forthcoming as we can, given these significant legal constraints.” He cited an ongoing BCI investigation and potential “personnel actions” regarding the officer who opened fire.

    The local police union said others would make any decisions regarding whether either officer is charged in the incident. But, Brian Steel, executive vice president of Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge #9, noted “a weapon is not just a firearm. A weapon is also a 2000-pound vehicle that somebody puts in gear and is driving at you.”

    “I understand why it could be justified but, again, I don’t make that decision,” Steel said at a news conference Friday, adding he was assuming the officer believed he could not get out of the way of the vehicle quickly enough.

    The Blendon Township Police Department’s use of force policy says when it’s “feasible,” officers should take “reasonable steps” to get out of the way of an approaching vehicle instead of firing a weapon.

    “An officer should only discharge a firearm at a moving vehicle or its occupants when the officer reasonably believes there are no other reasonable means available to avert the imminent threat of the vehicle, or if deadly force other than the vehicle is directed at the officer or others,” the policy says.

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  • Iran rounds up activists and relatives of killed protesters ahead of Mahsa Amini anniversary | CNN

    Iran rounds up activists and relatives of killed protesters ahead of Mahsa Amini anniversary | CNN

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    Editor’s Note: A version of this story appears in CNN’s Meanwhile in the Middle East newsletter, a three-times-a-week look inside the region’s biggest stories. Sign up here.



    CNN
     — 

    Iran is moving to head off a possible repeat of unrest ahead of the first anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini, arresting women’s rights activists and family members of people killed during last year’s nationwide protests, local and international human rights groups said Wednesday.

    Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman, died last September after being detained by the regime’s infamous morality police and taken to a “re-education center,” allegedly for not abiding by the country’s conservative dress code.

    Protests sparked by Amini’s death, the largest Iran has witnessed in years, were met with a brutal crackdown by Iran’s security forces.

    More than 300 people were killed in the protests, including more than 40 children, the UN said in November last year. US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) in January placed the number at more than 500, including 70 children.

    Thousands were arrested during months of protests across the country, the UN said in a report in June, citing research released last year by their Human Rights Committee.

    Iran executed seven protesters for their involvement in the unrest, according to the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

    A group of volunteer lawyers who defend rights activists alleged in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, that Iran arrested the father of one of the executed protesters and the family’s legal counsel on Tuesday.

    CNN has reached out to the Iranian Foreign Ministry for comment.

    In a separate case, Shermin Habibi, the wife of Fereydoon Mahmoodi, a protester killed by security forces during the demonstrations, was arrested and transported to an undisclosed location on Tuesday, according to a report from HRANA.

    Across 10 provinces, families of 33 people killed during the protests have been subjected to “human rights violations” in recent months, and the families of two people executed in connection with the protests were harassed and intimidated, Amnesty International said in a report this week.

    Meanwhile, Bidarzani, an independent women’s rights group, alleges in social media posts that 11 women’s rights activists and one man were arrested in Gilan province over the last week.

    State-affiliated media said 12 people were arrested for “preparing unrest and insecurity” in the province, which is northwest of Tehran on the Caspian Sea. Prosecutors in Gilan refused to provide details on which security entity was behind the arrests, according to Bidarzani.

    “Iranian authorities are using their go-to playbook of putting maximum pressure on peaceful dissidents ahead of the anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death,” a senior Iran researcher at Human Rights Watch, Tara Sepehri Far said in a press release.

    “The arbitrary arrests of a dozen activists are aimed at suppressing popular discontent with ongoing impunity and rights violations.”

    It is unclear if more protests are planned to coincide with the anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested by Iran’s morality police for not wearing her hijab correctly.

    Ten months after her death, Iran’s morality police resumed headscarf patrols and now Iranian authorities are considering a draconian new bill on hijab-wearing that experts say would enshrine unprecedentedly harsh punitive measures into law.

    The 70-article draft law sets out a range of proposals, including much longer prison terms for women who refuse to wear the veil, stiff new penalties for celebrities and businesses who flout the rules, and the use of artificial intelligence to identify women in breach of the dress code.

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  • A 7-year-old boy and his relatives are among the dozens killed in the Maui wildfires. Here’s what we know about some of the 115 lives lost | CNN

    A 7-year-old boy and his relatives are among the dozens killed in the Maui wildfires. Here’s what we know about some of the 115 lives lost | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    The apocalyptic wildfires that raced across Maui have claimed at least 115 lives – a devastating number that’s expected to grow.

    Many of the victims died while trying to escape the flames – including a 7-year-old boy and three members of his family who were found “in a burned-out car near their home,” according to a verified GoFundMe page.

    “On behalf of our family, we bid aloha to our beloved parents, Faaso and Malui Fonua Tone, as well as our dear sister Salote Takafua and her son, Tony Takafua,” the family said in a statement to CNN affiliate Hawaii News Now.

    “The magnitude of our grief is indescribable, and their memories will forever remain etched in our hearts.”

    The mass tragedy is expected to intensify as search crews keep sifting through the ashes of the “many hundreds of homes” destroyed by the infernos that began August 8. As of August 22, 87% of the burn area had been searched for remains, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green told Hawaii News Now.

    “Every single structure or area that’s been damaged by the fire is being and will be searched for human remains so that we can recover our loved ones,” Maui Police Chief John Pelletier said during a news conference August 22. “We are going to do this right. We’re not going to do it fast. We cannot be in a rush to judgment. We’ve got one chance.”

    Authorities have lists with over 1,000 people named as unaccounted for as of August 22, though investigators still are trying to determine the list’s accuracy, Steven Merrill, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Honolulu office, said.

    Meanwhile, work is underway to identify those killed in the fire using DNA samples provided by family members.

    As the identities of more victims emerge, so do poignant tales about their lives. These are some of their stories:

    A grandfather and musician who toured with Santana

    Buddy Jantoc, 79, was living at a senior housing complex when flames swept through Lahaina, CNN affiliate KITV reported.

    Jantoc was one of the first two victims that Maui County officials publicly identified.

    “My papa was older, but for him to be taken from us that way,” his granddaughter Keshia Alaka’i told KITV. “I think that’s what’s the hardest to come to terms with.”

    Jantoc sang, played the guitar and drums and even toured with Carlos Santana’s band, his granddaughter said. Most recently, he played music for local hula halls.

    Alaka’i spoke with her grandfather often and will miss their phone calls – including “his calls for the silly stuff,” she told KITV.

    “Buying things for him, ordering online because he didn’t know how to work it or, you know, fighting with his iPhone because I had bought him a new one he didn’t know how to work that,” she fondly recalled.

    Iola Balubar, a hula instructor who performed with Jantoc, told KITV he was “a good man, a good grandpa.”

    “Whatever time he had with his family, he treasured it,” she said.

    Franklin “Frankie” Trejos, 68, lived in the historic town of Lahaina for three decades before the inferno consumed his neighborhood, niece Kika Perez Grant said.

    Trejos’ longtime friend and roommate told the family he and Trejos tried to save their property before the flames overwhelmed them, Perez Grant said.

    Franklin 'Frankie' Trejos adored his roommate's dog, Sam, his niece said.

    The roommate suffered burns but managed to escape the chaotic scene. But Trejos was nowhere to be found.

    Hours later, the roommate called Trejos’ family again “to tell us he had found Uncle Frankie’s remains,” Perez Grant said. Trejos’ remains were found blocks away from his home on top of his roommate’s dog, whom he loved, his niece said.

    “Uncle Frankie was a kind man, a nature lover, an animal lover and he loved his friends and his families with this whole heart,” his niece said.

    “He loved adventure and was a free spirit.”

    Carole Hartley was known for

    Carole Hartley, who lived in downtown Lahaina, died while trying to flee, her sister told CNN.

    As Hartley and her partner, Charles Paxton, tried to escape the flames, they were separated by thick, black smoke that engulfed them, Donna Gardner Hartley said.

    The powerful winds whipped by Hurricane Dora moved quickly and “kept changing,” Gardner Hartley wrote in a Facebook post.

    Paxton “said they were inside a dark smoke (that) felt like a tornado and they could not see nothing they kept calling each others name,” she wrote.

    “He was screaming … ‘Run run run Carole run.’ He eventually could not hear her anymore.”

    Hartley’s partner was eventually found by his friends and treated for burn injuries, Gardner Hartley wrote.

    He then organized a search group to look for Hartley. The group discovered her remains on the couple’s property over the weekend, Gardner Hartley told CNN.

    Paxton believes Hartley turned back to help someone before she died, Gardner Hartley said in a statement.

    A verified GoFundMe account has been established to support Paxton during his grief.

    “This week has been the worse days of our life,” Gardner Hartley said in her statement. “It takes your breath away when you receive the call that your little sister’s remains were found on her property and that they are still waiting for DNA verification.”

    Gardner Hartley remembered her sister as a special, loving person from a young age. The two would talk often, she said, and were always “a phone call away.”

    Hartley had lived on the island for 36 years, her sister said.

    “My little sister has always looked for the good in people and always helped others,” Gardner Hartley said. “She will be missed by all that knew her for her fun personality, her smile and adventures.”

    A beloved grandmother who tried to flee

    Melva Benjamin, 71, of Lahaina perished in the Maui fires, county officials said.

    The last time Melva Benjamin’s family heard from her, the 71-year-old grandmother was evacuating to a shelter with her partner on August 8, her granddaughter said.

    After days of frantic searching, the family learned she had died in the fire, granddaughter Tufalei Makua shared on Facebook.

    “It is with great sadness and a heavy heart, we announce the loss of Melva Benjamin. We were informed this afternoon, Tuesday, Aug 15, 2023, that she perished in the Lahaina fires,” Makua wrote.

    “We appreciate the love and support that everyone has shown us during this difficult time. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we remember and honor her. We love you all.”

    Donna Gomes of Lahaina perished in the fire, officials said. Her granddaughter, Tehani Kuhaulu, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that Gomes was the backbone of the family.

    The 71-year-old was a retired Maui Police Department public safety aide. She had plans to visit Las Vegas to celebrate her upcoming birthday, her granddaughter said.

    “She loved to play poker and gamble,” Kuhaulu said. “Her self-care was going to Las Vegas, any casino.”

    She leaves behind two daughters, seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

    Alfredo Galinato made his family smile every day, his son said.

    Alfredo Galinato of Lahaina perished in the Maui fires, according to county officials. His sons spoke to KITV and said the 79-year-old tried to save their family home that he built.

    “With all his heart I know that he was trying to fight the fire to save our home,” his son Joshua Galinato told KITV. “So we can come back to our home as a whole family.”

    Galinato’s sons searched for him and shared images of him on social media in the days after the fire, trying to find anyone who might know his whereabouts. But the family was later contacted by officials with devastating news.

    “I miss everything about my dad right now. His personality is just straight funny. I mean he just makes us smile every day with his jokes,” Joshua said. “I just miss him.”

    “The get-togethers, we’ll be missing that,” Galinato’s son John told KITV. “Gatherings. He takes care of us a lot of times. He’s retired, but he just helps all the family. We’ll be missing him, seeing his face, his smile, everything – all the moments.”

    A verified GoFundMe account has been established by the family.

    The arduous task of identifying remains has been especially difficult because they’re largely unrecognizable and fingerprints are rarely found, the governor said.

    Maui County confirmed the first group of victims’ names about a week after the catastrophic Lahaina fire started torching the historic town.

    They included Benjamin, Galinato and Jantoc, as well as Virginia Dofa, 90; and Robert Dyckman, 74. All five lived in Lahaina.

    Another seven Lahaina residents were identified August 20-21. They were Conchita Sagudang, 75, Danilo Sagudang, 55, Rodolfo Rocutan, 76, Jonathan Somaoang, 76, Angelita Vasquez, 88, Douglas Gloege, 59, and Juan Deleon, 45, Maui officials said.

    On August 22, authorities identified seven other victims from Lahaina: Clyde Wakida, 74, Todd Yamafuji, 68, Antonia Molina, 64, Freeman Tam Lung, 59, Joseph Schilling, 67, Narciso Baylosis Jr., 67, Vanessa Baylosis, 67, according to Maui County officials.

    A California resident, Theresa Cook, 72, was also identified as one of the victims on August 22.

    Two Mexican nationals died in the Maui wildfires, Mexico Foreign Minister Alicia Barcena said.

    “Consular staff is providing assistance and accompaniment to their families,” she said. “We express our deepest condolences in this tragic situation.”

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  • ‘You gave me strength’: Spain’s Carmona learns of father’s death after firing team to World Cup victory | CNN

    ‘You gave me strength’: Spain’s Carmona learns of father’s death after firing team to World Cup victory | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Within the span of hours this weekend, Spain’s Women’s World Cup hero Olga Carmona experienced a career high and a deep loss, the latter of which was kept from her so she could focus on Sunday’s final.

    Carmona, who scored Spain’s winning goal against England, learned of her father’s death after the game, the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) said in a statement.

    “The RFEF deeply regrets to report the death of Olga Carmona’s father. The soccer player learned the sad news after the World Cup final. We send our most sincere hugs to Olga and her family in a moment of deep pain. We love you, Olga,” RFEF added.

    In an emotionally charged post on X, formally known as Twitter, Carmona likened her father to a star looking down on her while she played the final.

    “And without being aware of it, I had my Star before kick off,” she wrote. “I know you gave me the strength to accomplish something truly unique. I know you were watching me tonight and that you are proud of me. Rest in peace, dad.”

    Carmona posted another emotional tribute on X on Monday, the day after the World Cup final.

    “I don’t have the words to thank all of your love,” the post read. “Yesterday was the best and worst day of my life.

    “I know you’d want me to enjoy this historic moment – because of that I’ll be with my teammates, so that wherever you are, you’ll know that this star is also yours, Dad.”

    Carmona’s club, Real Madrid, also issued a statement expressing its condolences.

    “Real Madrid C.F., the president and the Board of Directors are deeply saddened by the passing of the father of our player Olga Carmona. Real Madrid would like to extend our condolences and heartfelt sympathy to Olga, her family and all her loved ones. May he rest in peace,” the statement read.

    Carmona’s 29th-minute strike proved to be the winner, making La Roja only the second country, after Germany, to win both the men’s and women’s World Cups.

    Following the goal, Carmona lifted her shirt in celebration. After the match, she explained the reason she did that was to honor the mother of her best friend who recently passed away.

    Carmona’s goal delivered Spain the win against the odds. That La Roja triumphed against the reigning European champion and pre-match favorite despite the disputes and divisions that have clouded the national team throughout the tournament makes this achievement extraordinary.

    Last year, 15 Spanish players declared themselves unavailable for selection, saying they were unhappy with the training methods of head coach Jorge Vilda, who had described the situation at the time as a “world embarrassment.”

    Only three of those 15 players who had written letters to RFEF last year, saying the “situation” within the national team was affecting their “emotional state” and health, were selected for the World Cup squad.

    The country is now the best in the world, but the international futures of those exiled players remain unclear. With victory, the questions surrounding the national set-up, of whether or how the dispute can be resolved, do not disappear.

    If the off-pitch issues can be resolved, Spain’s future shines bright, because now, incredibly, the Iberian nation is a Women’s World Cup winner at Under-17, Under-20 and senior level.

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  • Maui wildfires kill at least 80 people, and the race to find survivors is grim as countless residents in torched areas remain missing | CNN

    Maui wildfires kill at least 80 people, and the race to find survivors is grim as countless residents in torched areas remain missing | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    At least 80 people have been killed in Maui’s wildfires, officials said late Friday, as search efforts for survivors are ongoing and many remain missing.

    The death toll rose from an announced 67 earlier Friday, making the fires the largest natural disaster in the state’s history. The death toll continued to climb Friday, surpassing the state’s record natural disaster death toll of 61 from a 1960 tsunami that hit Hilo Bay.

    On Friday evening, residents in Kaanapali were being evacuated after police said there was a fire in western Maui.

    “At this time, there are no restrictions to exit the west side. Our priority is to ensure the safety of the community and first responders. We will allow entrance once it is safe to do so,” police said in a Facebook post.

    Gov. Josh Green told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer Friday that none of the human remains discovered in nearby Lahaina were found inside structures yet, but the confirmed fatalities “did occur out in the open as people tried to escape the fire.”

    Green said that within days officials expect to have a more comprehensive idea of how many lives were lost.

    “We will continue to see loss of life,” Green said during a news conference late Thursday. “We also have many hundreds of homes destroyed, and that’s going to take a great deal of time to recover from.”

    Now, families wait in agony to learn what happened to their missing loved ones.

    Live updates: Deadly wildfires burn across Maui

    Timm Williams Sr., a 66-year-old disabled veteran who uses a wheelchair, last spoke with his family Wednesday as he was trying to flee Kaanapali, just north of the obliterated town of Lahaina.

    Shortly before he went missing, Williams sent a photo of flames shooting toward the sky, his granddaughter Brittany Talley told CNN.

    This August 9 photo of a wildfire in Maui was the last image Timm

    While he fled, Williams said he couldn’t tell exactly where he was due to the intense smoke in the air, Talley recalled. “He was attempting to make it to a shelter, but all of the roads were blocked,” she said.

    The family has tried every means possible to find the missing grandfather, but to no avail.

    “It has been difficult,” Talley said. “Every minute that goes by is another minute that he could be hurt or in danger.”

    Satellite images taken on June 25 and August 9 show an overview of southern Lahaina, Hawaii, before and after the recent wildfires.

    Satellite image ©2023 Maxar Technologies

    While rescue crews scramble to find survivors, here’s the latest on the ongoing catastrophe:

    • Cadaver dogs are looking for victims: Search-and-rescue teams with cadaver dogs from California and Washington are in Maui to help with recovery efforts, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said.

    • Thousands are displaced: About 1,400 people slept at an airport Wednesday night and more than 1,300 stayed in emergency shelters before many of them were taken to the airport to leave the island, Maui County officials said. Thousands of people are believed to have been displaced, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell told CNN on Thursday.

    • Billions of dollars in losses: Determining the full scope of the fires’ impacts on the island will take time, “but it will be in the billions of dollars without a doubt,” the governor said Thursday.

    It will take many years to rebuild Lahaina, where “upwards of 1,700 buildings” may have been destroyed, Green told CNN. He said it appears about 80% of the town is “gone.”

    • Housing appeal: With many having nowhere to stay, the governor asked residents to open up their homes and hotels to help those in need. “If you have additional space in your home, if you have the capacity to take someone in from west Maui, please do,” Green said.

    “Please consider bringing those people into your lives.”

    • Fires have burned for days: As of Thursday, the four largest fires still were active in Maui County, Fire Chief Bradford Ventura said. “Additionally, we’ve had many small fires in between these large fires,” the chief said.

    “And with the current weather pattern that we’re facing, we still have the potential for rapid fire behavior.” The wildfire that torched Lahaina was 80% contained by Thursday morning, Maui County officials said.

    • Communication and power outages: Officials have resorted to satellite phones to communicate with providers on the west side of Maui to restore power to the area, Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke said.

    About 11,000 homes and businesses were in the dark early Friday, according to the tracking site PowerOutage.us.

    • Resources sent to Maui: President Joe Biden approved a disaster declaration to provide federal funding for recovery costs in Maui County. California plans to send a search and rescue team to help support efforts on the ground in Maui. And more than 130 members from the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard have been assigned to provide assistance.

    No one knows how many people were still missing Friday after wildfires annihilated the historic town of Lahaina, where 13,000 people lived.

    “Here’s the challenge: There’s no power. There’s no internet. There’s no radio coverage,” Maui County Police Chief John Pelletier said Thursday.

    Lahaina – an economic hub that draws millions of tourists each year and the one-time capital of the kingdom of Hawaii – is “all gone,” said Maui County Mayor Richard T. Bissen Jr.

    Residents of west Maui will be allowed to access Lahaina starting Friday at noon local time, according to a news release from the county. Residents will need identification with proof of residency. Visitors will need proof of hotel reservations. Barricades have been set up to prevent access to the “heavily impacted area of historic Lahaina town” where search crews are continuing to look for victims of the fires.

    A curfew will also be in effect from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. local time “in historic Lahaina town and affected areas,” the news release says.

    “Now I want to caution everyone, Lahaina is a devastated zone,” Green warned Friday in an interview with local station KHON. Returning residents “will see destruction like they’ve not ever seen in their lives. Everyone, please brace themselves as they go back.”

    Green said a hotline will likely be established to connect displaced residents with available rooms in homes and hotels.

    Search dogs have not yet been able to access every burned building, Green said, cautioning residents not to enter any charred structure that appears unsafe.

    The governor said he plans to return to Maui on Saturday.

    In a Friday news release, the Department of Water Supply also asked Maui residents to conserve water, as first responders continue to fight the flames and intermittent power outages take place. The department asked residents island-wide to refrain from washing cars, washing sidewalks and driveways, and irrigating lawns.

    In pictures: The deadly Maui wildfires

    Most of Maui looked like its idyllic self on Tuesday morning before the flames spread out of control.

    Burned cars seen on Thursday after wildfires raged through Lahaina, Hawaii.

    At 9:55 a.m., Maui County posted a seemingly optimistic update on the Lahaina fire:

    “Maui Fire Department declared the Lahaina brush fire 100% contained shortly before 9 a.m. today,” the county said on Facebook Tuesday.

    About an hour later, the county updated residents on another wildfire burning:

    “Kula Fire Update No. 2 at 10:50 a.m.: Firefighter crews remain on scene of a brush fire that was reported at 12:22 a.m. today near Olinda Road in Kula and led to evacuations of residents in the Kula 200 and Hanamu Road areas,” the county said.

    By Tuesday afternoon, another wildfire became an increasing threat:

    “With the potential risk of escalating conditions from an Upcountry brush fire, the Fire Department is strongly advising residents of Piʻiholo and Olinda roads to proactively evacuate,” Maui County posted at 3:20 p.m. Less than an hour later, it said, “The Fire Department is calling for the immediate evacuation of residents of the subdivision including Kulalani Drive and Kulalani Circle due to an Upcountry brush fire.”

    Shortly later, the county said the Lahaina fire had resurged.

    “An apparent flareup of the Lahaina fire forced the closure of Lahaina Bypass around 3:30 p.m.,” Maui County posted at 4:45 p.m.

    And by 5:50 p.m. Tuesday, there were “Multiple evacuations in place for Lahaina and Upcountry Maui fires,” the county said.

    As the ferocious fires spread, some people jumped into the ocean to escape the flames. Rescuers plucked dozens of people from the water or the shore.

    Building wreckage seen Thursday in the aftermath of the fires that raged in Lahaina, Hawaii.

    Green said he has authorized a “comprehensive review” of the response to the fast-moving fires. Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez will spearhead that review, her office announced Friday.

    “My Department is committed to understanding the decisions that were made before and during the wildfires and to sharing with the public the results of this review,” Lopez said in a statement. “As we continue to support all aspects of the ongoing relief effort, now is the time to begin this process of understanding.”

    State records show that Maui’s warning sirens were not activated, and the emergency communications with residents was largely limited to mobile phones and broadcasters at a time when most power and cell service was already cut.

    “The telecommunications were destroyed very rapidly,” the governor said, blaming the rapid spread of the fires on “global warming, combined with drought, combined with a superstorm.”

    Green added that restoring utilities will likely to be a lengthy process because of Lahaina’s remote location, as workers and raw materials cannot simply be driven to Hawaii. “This is not to make an excuse. This is just to explain the realities of the island, especially in the post-Covid era,” he said.

    May Wedelin-Lee is one of countless residents who lost homes in Lahaina. She described the horror and desperation of those trying to escape and survive.

    “The apocalypse was happening,” she told CNN on Thursday.

    “People were crying on the side of the road and begging,” Wedelin-Lee said. “Some people had bicycles, people ran, people had skateboards, people had cats under their arm. They had a baby in tow, just sprinting down the street.”

    The fire moved so quickly that many left their homes immediately with little notice from authorities, Maui County’s fire chief said.

    “What we experienced was such a fast-moving fire through the neighborhood that the initial neighborhood that caught fire, they were basically self-evacuating with fairly little notice,” fire chief Brad Ventura said.

    The Coast Guard rescued 17 people who fled into the Pacific Ocean to escape the flames, the commander of Section Honolulu said Friday.

    Coast Guard resources – including three cutters and two small boat crews – patrolled about 500 square miles of the harbor searching for survivors for more than 15 hours, Captain Aja Kirksey said at a Friday news conference.

    One person was found dead and the survivors rescued are all in stable condition, according to Kirksey.

    An aerial image taken Thursday shows destroyed homes and buildings on the waterfront in Lahaina.

    The fires have damaged or destroyed hundreds of structures in Maui County, local officials estimate.

    “All of those buildings virtually are going to have to be rebuilt,” Green said Thursday. “It will be a new Lahaina that Maui builds in its own image with its own values.”

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  • 36 people have died from the wildfires in Hawaii, Maui County officials say | CNN

    36 people have died from the wildfires in Hawaii, Maui County officials say | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    [Breaking news update, published at 4:11 a.m. ET]   

    The death toll in Maui County is now 36, according to a press release from the county.

    “As the firefighting efforts continue, 36 total fatalities have been discovered today amid the active Lahaina fire. No other details are available at this time,” the release said.

    [Original story, published at 3:56 a.m. ET]   

    As deadly wildfires devastating parts of Maui approach their third day, residents and visitors are recalling harrowing escapes by car or boat, taking stock of the homes and landmarks they’ve lost and wondering what to do next.

    The fires have killed at least six people on the Hawaiian island and displaced hundreds if not thousands, officials say, and many have left not knowing whether anything but ashes will be left when they return.

    In the badly scorched western Maui community of Lahaina, Mark and Maureen Stefl have now lost their home to a wildfire for the second time in less than five years. On Tuesday they first saw flames under half a mile from their home, and when winds picked up, the fire suddenly was in their yard, Mark Stefl told CNN on Wednesday.

    “We just lost our house again. Twice in four years,” Mark Stefl said. “We just got our house back to where we wanted it, and this happened.”

    The first time their home burned to the ground, it was from a quick-moving fire fanned by winds from 2018’s Hurricane Lane. Now, the two-story yellow abode they rebuilt is gone, and so are their cat and dog.

    “The fire just engulfed our house,” he said.

    Fanned in part by fierce winds from Hurricane Dora passing hundreds of miles to the south, this week’s fires on Maui and to a lesser extent Hawaii’s Big Island ignited and spread Tuesday, jumping freeways, advancing into neighborhoods and destroying people’s homes and businesses.

    Thousands of people, especially on Maui’s western side, can’t call 911 or update loved ones about their status because power and communications were knocked out, authorities said. Hospitals are overwhelmed, several people are unaccounted for, and more than 2,000 people were in Maui shelters Tuesday night, officials said.

    Hawaii Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke called the situation “unprecedented.” Here’s the latest:

    • 6 deaths reported: The deaths were discovered Wednesday “amid the active Lahaina fire,” Maui County officials said. Names weren’t immediately released.

    • Several unaccounted for: Three helicopters from the US Coast Guard and US Navy were used in search and rescue efforts along the west Maui coastline, and a federal team arrived Wednesday to help search efforts in the Lahaina area, officials said.

    • Cell service out for thousands in Maui: It could take days or even weeks to fix networks. Officials have been using satellite phones to communicate with providers on the west side of Maui to restore power to the area, Luke said.

    • Among the most devastated areas: Much of the western Maui community of Lahaina, where about 12,000 people live, is destroyed and hundreds of families there have been displaced, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said. More than 270 structures have been impacted in Lahaina, county officials said.

    • Many in shelters: More than 2,100 people were in four emergency shelters in Maui on Tuesday night, the mayor’s office said. While there’s enough shelter for an emergency response for a few days, “there’s not enough shelter for long term living,” the governor told CNN.

    • Visitors urged to leave: Maui County officials are asking visitors to leave Lahaina and Maui as soon as possible, noting seats were available on outgoing flights. Nonessential travel to Maui is strongly discouraged, they said.

    • Hospitals overwhelmed: Hospitals on Maui were overwhelmed with burn patients and people suffering from smoke inhalation, Luke told CNN Wednesday. Some patients should be taken elsewhere because Maui hospitals aren’t equipped for extensive burn treatment, but transportation challenges have made that difficult, Luke said.

    Hawaii is asking President Joe Biden to declare an emergency, Green told CNN’s Sara Sidner Wednesday evening, adding that he expects “billions of dollars of structural damage.”

    Maui resident Daniel Sullivan said the scene was “apocalyptic” when an inferno surrounded his neighborhood Tuesday and inched closer.

    His children were sleeping downstairs in his home as he watched from the roof all night, preparing to go when flames got too close. He saw the fire get “closer and closer – and we had no way to get out because the roads were blocked.”

    His home survived, but many friends lost theirs, he said. “The island has been decimated,” he told CNN’s Kaitlin Collins.

    Braintin Stevens left a burning Lahaina Harbor by boat Tuesday, he told CNN, sharing a video of thick, black smoke rising from the harbor as he departed.

    The Coast Guard used a 45-foot boat to rescue 14 people who had fled into the water off Lahaina on Tuesday to escape advancing flames, the service said.

    More than 11,000 people were flown out of Maui on Wednesday, Hawaii Department of Transportation Director Ed Sniffen said in a news conference Wednesday evening. Airlines, including Alaska, Delta, United and American, all brought in larger planes to get more people off the island, while Southwest dropped its fares and increased service, Sniffen said.

    Helicopter footage shows scores of structures on Maui burned to the ground, many of them in the historic town of Lahaina, a touristic and economic hub on the west side of the island.

    “It looked like an area that had been bombed in the war,” Richie Olsten, a pilot who flew a helicopter over Maui Wednesday afternoon, told CNN’s Jake Tapper.

    Lahaina resident Alan Dickar watched one of his houses burn and the other engulfed in smoke as he evacuated.

    “There is a very good chance that they are not there anymore,” Dickar said Wednesday.

    Maui resident Jeff Melichar had to evacuate Tuesday evening as embers and smoke enveloped his home.

    “I am told my house is gone, but we are not yet allowed access to West Maui,” he said.

    Lt. Gov. Luke said she got to see the destruction in Lahaina firsthand during a flyover on Wednesday, calling it “shocking and devastating.” “The whole town was decimated,” Luke said.

    “We’re still trying to assess the amount of damage but the road to recovery will be long,” Luke said. “It’s going to take years.”

    The fires have destroyed important Hawaiian historical and cultural sites, according to a CNN analysis of new Maxar Technologies satellite imagery.

    A satellite image shows an overview of wildfire destruction in Lahaina on Wednesday.

    The satellite imagery, taken at 11:03 a.m. local time Wednesday, shows several buildings on historically significant Front Street have been destroyed. In central Lahaina, smoke is still seen rising from the Kohola Brewery building.

    The images also show that one of the largest banyan trees in the US – the size of an entire city block and was more than 60 feet high in in central Lahaina – has been burnt. It was imported from India in 1873, Hawaii’s Tourism Authority says.

    The Lahaina Heritage Museum, located just west of the tree, could be seen with its roof collapsed and only walls still standing. Just north of the tree, another important historical site, the Baldwin Home Museum, has been reduced to ash.

    Farther north, the Wo Hing Temple Museum has been destroyed.

    “We have no more Lahaina. It’s gone,” Stefl, the man who lost his home for a second time, told CNN Wednesday.

    Stefl, who was staying with his wife at a friend’s house on the other side of Maui on Wednesday, said he would “rebuild, like we did before.”

    “We love it here. We have a lot of friends here. We’ll get through this,” he said.

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  • Utah man killed by FBI agents after he allegedly made threats against Biden ahead of president’s visit | CNN Politics

    Utah man killed by FBI agents after he allegedly made threats against Biden ahead of president’s visit | CNN Politics

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    CNN
     — 

    FBI special agents shot and killed a Utah man Wednesday while attempting to arrest him for allegedly making threats against President Joe Biden ahead of the president’s trip to the state.

    FBI SWAT agents were giving commands to the man when he pointed a gun at them, according to a law enforcement source familiar with the incident.

    The man, Craig Robertson, was facing three federal charges, including threats against the president as well as influencing, impeding and retaliating against federal law enforcement officers by threat. Investigators noted that Robertson appears to owns “a sniper rifle” and several other firearms.

    Some of the threats happened just ahead of Biden’s planned trip to Utah on Wednesday evening.

    “I HEAR BIDEN IS COMING TO UTAH,” one threat read, according to prosecutors. “DIGGING OUT MY OLD GHILLE SUIT AND CLEANING THE DUST OFF THE M24 SNIPER RIFLE. WELCOM, BUFFOON-IN-CHIEF!”

    Robertson also posted online threats in recent months against other Democratic politicians and prosecutors who have brought cases against former President Donald Trump. The case comes amid heightened vitriol aimed at national and local leaders in the lead-up to the 2024 election and what FBI Director Christopher Wray has called an “unprecedented” level of threats against FBI agents.

    In a post on Monday Robertson said, “Hey FBI, you still monitoring my social media? Checking so I can be sure to have a loaded gun handy in case you drop by again.”

    Biden was briefed on the matter Wednesday in New Mexico, where he delivered remarks on manufacturing before his scheduled travel to Salt Lake City.

    “The FBI is reviewing an agent-involved shooting which occurred around 6:15 a.m. on Wednesday, August 9, 2023 in Provo, Utah. The incident began when special agents attempted to serve arrest and search warrants at a residence. The subject is deceased,” an FBI spokesperson said in a statement to CNN.

    The spokesperson continued: “The FBI takes all shooting incidents involving our agents or task force members seriously. In accordance with FBI policy, the shooting incident is under review by the FBI’s Inspection Division.”

    The US Secret Service, which is responsible for protection of high-level government officials, including Biden, referred questions to the bureau. “The Secret Service is aware of the FBI investigation involving an individual in Utah who has exhibited threats to a Secret Service protectee,” a Secret Service spokesperson said.

    Robertson also allegedly made threats on Facebook against Attorney General Merrick Garland – including a picture of a semi-automatic handgun with the caption “Merrick Garland eradication tool” and a description of a dream about killing the attorney general. Other politicians who he allegedly made threats against included Vice President Kamala Harris, New York State Attorney General Letitia James and California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

    In one Truth Social post highlighted by prosecutors, Robertson took aim at New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who has brought criminal charges against Trump stemming from a hush-money scheme before the 2016 election.

    Robertson wrote: “Heading to New York to fulfill my dream of iradicating [sic] another…two-but political hach [sic] DAs.”

    The post, cited in court documents, continued: “I want to stand over Bragg and put a nice hole in his forehead with my 9mm and watch him twitch as a drop of blood oozes from the hole as his life ebbs away to hell!!”

    FBI agents approached Robertson at his house in March about a social media post, investigators wrote in an affidavit. Robertson would not speak to the agents, saying, “I said it was a dream!” and “We’re done here! Don’t return without a warrant.”

    After the interaction, Robertson allegedly repeatedly threatened FBI agents online. One such Facebook post included in court documents said: “TO MY FRIENDS IN THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF IDIOTS: I KNOW YOU’RE READING THIS AND YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW CLOSE YOUR AGENTS CAME TO ‘BANG.’”

    This story has been updated with additional information.

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  • Two Israelis arrested after Palestinian man killed in West Bank | CNN

    Two Israelis arrested after Palestinian man killed in West Bank | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Two Israelis have been arrested for questioning and five others detained following the reported killing of a Palestinian man in the West Bank, Israel Police said in a statement Saturday.

    It is rare for Israeli settlers to be arrested for attacks on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. They are almost never prosecuted, even if arrested.

    A Palestinian man was shot and killed by Israeli settlers in the village of Burqa, near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said late Friday.

    It is the first accusation from the Ministry that settlers have killed a Palestinian villager since February, and the second this year, although both Palestinian officials and international observers regularly document violence by settlers against Palestinians.

    The ministry said Qusai Jamal Maatan, 19, was fatally shot in the neck by Israeli settlers during an attack on his village. Two others were injured, according to the ministry.

    Maatan was buried Saturday morning.

    The IDF said in a statement that they arrived after reports of “violent clashes between Israeli civilians and Palestinians,” and that “it was reported that during the clashes, Israeli civilians shot toward the Palestinians and as a result, there was a Palestinian casualty.”

    The IDF also said Israeli civilians were reportedly injured by rocks hurled at them.

    There was no immediate comment from the Shomron (Samaria) Council, which represents settlers in the northern West Bank and would not normally issue a statement on Shabbat.

    A legal aid group that defends settlers said Saturday that the settler who shot the Palestinian was acting in self-defense after Palestinian villagers began harassing an Israeli shepherd.

    Honenu, the legal group, said the incident began when Palestinians from Burqa threatened the shepherd from Oz Zion – a settler outpost – which is illegal not only under international law but under Israeli law.

    The shepherd called other settlers “to prevent deterioration,” Honenu said, after which dozens of Palestinians attacked them with clubs, fireworks and rocks.

    One of the settlers was hit in the head with a rock “at point blank range and was seriously injured,” according to Honenu, and he managed to defend himself with a licensed gun he was carrying.

    He is currently in intensive care following an operation at Shaare Zedek hospital in Jerusalem, and under arrest, Honenu said.

    The second Israeli settler who was arrested helped transport him to the hospital, Honenu said.

    Honenu attorney Nati Rom said: “My client acted according to the law, and as is required of any licensed firearm holder – to protect his life and the lives of other civilians.”

    A statement released by the Israeli military said both Israelis and Palestinians threw stones in the West Bank confrontation.
    The army has imposed a closed military zone on the area while investigations by Israel Police and the Shin Bet security agency (ISA) are ongoing.

    The US State Department qualified the incident as a “terror attack”.

    In a statement released on Twitter, now known as X, it said: “We strongly condemn yesterday’s terror attack by Israeli extremist settlers that killed a 19-year old Palestinian.”

    “The US extends our deepest sympathies to his family and loved ones. We note Israeli officials have made several arrests and we urge full accountability and justice.”

    The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates strongly condemned attacks by what they referred to as “organized and armed terrorist settler militias” against unarmed Palestinian citizens in Burqa.

    The ministry expressed concern over the lack of real punishment for attacks by settlers on Palestinian villagers, saying the incidents have emboldened settlers to commit further crimes. The ministry accused Israeli government ministers and their followers of incitement.

    The coalition government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu includes two parties primarily supported by settlers, Israelis who live in the West Bank in order to cement the country’s hold on the Palestinian territory. Settlements are considered illegal under international law. Israeli asserts the West Bank is “disputed,” not “occupied,” and denies that the settlements are illegal.

    The United Nations warned last month of a dramatic rise in West Bank settler attacks on Palestinian people and property, with nearly 600 such incidents registered during the first half of the year.

    The UN humanitarian agency OCHA said it had recorded 591 settler-related incidents in the territory in the first six months of 2023, resulting in Palestinian casualties, property damage, or both.

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  • A Florida man is charged with murder in the death of his wife, whose remains were found in suitcases | CNN

    A Florida man is charged with murder in the death of his wife, whose remains were found in suitcases | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    A Florida man has been charged with first-degree murder on suspicion of killing and dismembering his wife, whose remains were found in suitcases at a beach last month, authorities said Thursday.

    William Lowe, who was arrested Wednesday, is accused of killing his 80-year-old wife, Aydil Barbosa Fontes, Delray Beach police Detective Mike Liberta said in a news conference Thursday.

    Investigators allege Lowe, 78, fatally shot Fontes in the head, dismembered her body at their apartment in Delray Beach and placed the remains in suitcases and a tote-like bag before discarding them at their local beach, Liberta said. Authorities believe Fontes was killed sometime between July 17 and July 20, police said previously.

    During his first court appearance Thursday, Lowe pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and abuse of a dead body, online court records show.

    Marc Shiner, an attorney representing Lowe, told CNN in an email Thursday that Lowe is a “former Marine who honorably served our country.” Shiner added the defendant “is looking forward for the entire truth to come out in the courtroom.”

    Lowe was being held without bond Thursday at Palm Beach County’s jail.

    The investigation started July 21, when police received calls from people reporting seeing suitcases they thought contained human remains at or near the Intracoastal Waterway at Delray Beach, about 9 miles north of Boca Raton, according to a probable cause affidavit.

    The tips led detectives to three suitcases filled with human body parts that day. Police first found one suitcase floating in the water, and shortly after, they found two more suitcases at nearby locations along the beach, police have said.

    A tote-type bag with more remains was found during a search of the waterway the next day, the affidavit reads.

    02 delray beach human remains suitcases

    “This is probably the worst I’ve seen,” Liberta said.

    Video surveillance of the area where the bags were found and witness statements helped police locate the defendant, Liberta said.

    Witnesses told police they saw an older White man apparently look at one of the suitcases, and one witness said the man was there five or six times over a three-day period before authorities found the remains, according to the affidavit.

    Witnesses also told police about a vehicle they’d seen a man with the same description get into near where a suitcase was dumped on the same day police found it, the affidavit states. A detective reported seeing a similar vehicle in the area, and the vehicle’s tag revealed it belonged to Lowe, according to the affidavit.

    Upon questioning, Lowe told police on Monday his wife had been in Brazil for “about three weeks,” according to the document.

    Police searched Lowe’s apartment and spotted large amounts of blood in multiple areas in the home. A search of the suspect’s storage unit revealed a chainsaw police believe was used in the dismembering, Liberta said.

    “Detectives observed blood spatter throughout the residence to include the living room, dining room, hallway, both bathrooms and the master bedroom. Blood was detected in the master bath shower drain as well as the tub of the second bathroom,” the affidavit states.

    Police also saw drag marks in the living room, hallway and master bathroom along with numerous cleaning supplies, the affidavit notes.

    Investigators don’t know of a motive in the killing, Liberta said.

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  • 26-year-old tech CEO found dead in Baltimore with signs of blunt-force trauma | CNN Business

    26-year-old tech CEO found dead in Baltimore with signs of blunt-force trauma | CNN Business

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    CNN
     — 

    The Baltimore Police Department has announced an arrest warrant for a suspect wanted for the murder of Pava LaPere, the 26-year-old CEO of startup EcoMap Technologies, who was found dead in a downtown Baltimore apartment Monday with signs of blunt-force trauma to her head.

    Police are looking for 32-year-old Jason Dean Billingsley, Acting Police Commissioner Richard Worley said during a news conference Tuesday.

    Officers responded to a call for service at an apartment complex in the 300 block of West Franklin Street at around 11:34 a.m. Monday, according to Baltimore police. Upon arriving, the officers found LaPere with severe injuries to her head. Police have not released any further information on her death.

    The medical examiner’s office took possession of the body, and an examination is pending, police said.

    Billingsley is wanted for first-degree murder, assault, reckless endangerment and additional charges. He should be considered armed and dangerous, police said.

    “This individual will kill and he will rape. He will do anything he can to cause harm,” Worley warned.

    Baltimore police said they do not believe LaPere and Billingsley knew each other.

    The police did not say how they identified Billingsley as a suspect.

    In a message to Billingsley, Worley urged him to turn himself in. “We will find you, so I would ask you to turn yourself in to any officer, any police station,” he said.

    EcoMap was founded by LaPere and Sherrod Davis while LaPere was a 21-year-old college student at Johns Hopkins, according to EcoMap’s website. With just over 30 employees, the startup is part of the artificial intelligence wave. It sells AI tools, including a customizable chatbot, that aim to make clients’ information easier to access and customer communications more seamless, the company says.

    The company confirmed LaPere’s passing to CNN.

    “With profound sadness and shock, EcoMap announces the tragic and untimely passing of our beloved Founder and CEO, Pava LaPere,” EcoMap said in a statement. “The circumstances surrounding Pava’s death are deeply distressing, and our deepest condolences are with her family, friends, and loved ones during this incredibly devastating time.”

    In August, the company said it had reached nearly $8 million in financing.

    Earlier this year, LaPere was named on the Forbes 30 under 30 list in the social impact category.

    “Pava was not only the visionary force behind EcoMap but was also a deeply compassionate and dedicated leader. Her untiring commitment to our company, to Baltimore, to amplifying the critical work of ecosystems across the country, and to building a deeply inclusive culture as a leader, friend, and partner set a standard for leadership, and her legacy will live on through the work we continue to do,” the company said.

    The CEO of Baltimore-based company Fearless, Delali Dzirasa, served as a mentor to LaPere and remembers her as being a determined leader who was highly regarded across the community.

    “There is no person on planet Earth that could tell Pava that she couldn’t do something,” Dzirasa said. “Even though she was a force, she always made space for other people,” he told CNN.

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  • DeSantis pushes back on man who blamed him for Jacksonville shooting deaths: ‘That is nonsense’ | CNN Politics

    DeSantis pushes back on man who blamed him for Jacksonville shooting deaths: ‘That is nonsense’ | CNN Politics

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    CNN
     — 

    Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis aggressively pushed back Thursday against a man who blamed him for the deaths in a racially motivated attack in Jacksonville last month.

    “I did not allow anything with that,” DeSantis – also a 2024 Republican presidential candidate – said to the man. “I’m not gonna let you accuse me of committing criminal activity. I’m not gonna take that.”

    DeSantis was taking questions Thursday morning following a news conference focused on his anti-Covid-19 mandate policies in light of an uptick in new cases. The man, who first thanked DeSantis for his military service, quickly moved to criticize him, saying the governor “allowed people to hunt people like me.”

    It is unclear from the taping of the news conference who the man is and if he represents any particular outlet or group.

    The Florida governor has eased gun restrictions in his state, including signing a bill that allows the carry of concealed weapons without a permit. And as he looks to secure the GOP presidential nomination next year, DeSantis has positioned himself as a more conservative alternative to Donald Trump on the issue of guns.

    The Jacksonville community is still reeling from the deadly rampage late last month that killed three Black people. On August 26, a White gunman first went to a historically Black university before open firing at a Dollar General a few minutes later using two, legally purchased firearms, CNN previously reported.

    DeSantis condemned the attack at a vigil the following day, adding, “We are not going to let people be targeted based on their race.” He pledged state funds to the community and the university.

    But the man pointed to the state’s relaxed gun policies, telling the Florida governor that he is “one of the Americans who does not agree” with all of the policies he’s enacted and that he has “allowed weapons to be put on the streets” that led to people’s deaths including the recent Jacksonville shooting.

    “That is nonsense, that is such nonsense,” DeSantis said animatedly. “We’ve done more to support law enforcement in this state than anybody throughout the United States.”

    “The notion that we’re not supportive of safety is absurd,” he added.

    As the large pool of GOP presidential hopefuls look to ramp up their campaign following Labor Day, DeSantis is nearly 30 percentage points behind Trump and the governor’s backing has dipped by 8 points since June, a recent CNN poll showed.

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  • Pelosi says interim House speaker McHenry has ordered her to vacate her office in the Capitol building | CNN Politics

    Pelosi says interim House speaker McHenry has ordered her to vacate her office in the Capitol building | CNN Politics

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    CNN
     — 

    Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday said the newly named interim speaker, GOP Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, has ordered her to vacate her office in the Capitol building.

    She does maintain her regular office in the Cannon House office building.

    An email sent from McHenry’s office to Pelosi’s office just after 6 p.m. Tuesday evening that was viewed by CNN, stated, “Going to reassign h-132 for speaker office use. Please vacate the space tomorrow.”

    Pelosi said in a statement that she was not in Washington, DC, to immediately move her belongings.

    “With all of the important decisions that the new Republican Leadership must address, which we are all eagerly awaiting, one of the first actions taken by the new Speaker Pro Tempore was to order me to immediately vacate my office in the Capitol,” the California Democrat said. “Sadly, because I am in California to mourn the loss of and pay tribute to my dear friend Dianne Feinstein, I am unable to retrieve my belongings at this time.”

    Feinstein, whose three decades in the Senate made her the longest-serving female US senator in history, died last week at age 90 following months of declining health. She will lie in state at San Francisco City Hall on Wednesday ahead of funeral services Thursday.

    A look back on Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s legacy

    Pelosi added in her statement that the “eviction is a sharp departure from tradition,” saying: “As Speaker, I gave former Speaker Hastert a significantly larger suite of offices for as long as he wished.”

    “Office space doesn’t matter to me, but it seems to be important to them,” she said. “Now that the new Republican Leadership has settled this important matter, let’s hope they get to work on what’s truly important for the American people.”

    CNN has reached out to McHenry for comment.

    House Republican leadership also kicked Rep. Steny Hoyer out of his Capitol hideaway office, his office confirmed to CNN on Wednesday.

    A Republican aide for the House Administration Committee, which oversees office spaces, told CNN this was not a request made by the committee.

    As speaker pro tempore, McHenry’s official title, the congressman will preside over the vote and selection of the House’s next speaker, with the ability to recess the chamber, adjourn it and recognize speaker nominations.

    Kevin McCarthy as speaker was required to submit a confidential list to the clerk of people “in the order in which each shall act as Speaker pro tempore in the case of a vacancy,” according to House rules. McHenry, a strong ally of McCarthy, was the top name on that list.

    This story has been updated with additional information.

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  • Minnesota officials investigating fatal officer-involved shooting of a man during a traffic stop in Minneapolis | CNN

    Minnesota officials investigating fatal officer-involved shooting of a man during a traffic stop in Minneapolis | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Three Minnesota State Patrol troopers are on leave after one of them fatally shot a man during a traffic stop early Monday in Minneapolis, and the state is investigating the shooting, authorities say.

    “This is just a tremendously sad situation,” the state patrol’s chief, Col. Matt Langer, said in a news conference Tuesday. The names of the troopers have not been released.

    Law enforcement has also not named the driver who was killed, but his family has identified him as Ricky Cobb II. The man’s face is blurred in body-worn camera footage released by the state patrol on Tuesday.

    “I am so hurt. I’m confused. I’m speechless,” Cobb’s mother, Nyra Fields-Miller, said during a news conference Tuesday.

    The fatal interaction began when troopers pulled over a car that was traveling on Interstate 94 without its taillights turned on, according to Langer.

    “Troopers learned that the driver was actually wanted by law enforcement in Ramsey County in connection with a felony Order for Protection violation,” Langer said.

    The body camera footage shows a trooper speaking to Cobb through the driver’s side window. The trooper asks him to step out of the car and says, “We just have some stuff to talk about.”

    The driver – who is Black – asks for a more detailed explanation. When Cobb asks whether the stop is related to a warrant, the trooper replies, “No, it’s not a warrant.” Cobb then refuses to get out of the car.

    A second trooper opens the front passenger-side door, and then the first trooper opens the front driver-side door and attempts to remove Cobb physically, body camera and dashboard camera footage shows. The car appears to move forward, and then shots are heard, the dashboard camera footage shows.

    “A state patrol trooper discharged their firearm during the course of this incident,” Langer said. The trooper who fired was the one standing at the front passenger-side door, Langer said.

    Both troopers are seen falling to the ground as Cobb drives away, the footage shows. A third trooper is also seen standing next to the car.

    The troopers then pursue the man’s car in their patrol vehicles and eventually catch up to it as it is slowly moving next to a guardrail, the video shows. The troopers use their vehicles to pin the car to the guardrail.

    The video shows the troopers attempting to administer first aid to Cobb. “I don’t have a pulse. I’m going to start CPR,” one trooper says.

    CNN has sought comment from the Minnesota State Patrol Troopers Association.

    Langer said he could not immediately explain why the trooper thought deadly force was required.

    “I simply don’t know what they were thinking,” he said.

    The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension – a separate state law enforcement agency – is investigating the shooting. The case will then be turned over to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, which will determine whether any charges will be filed, a spokesperson for the office told CNN.

    “This is an important decision that impacts everyone in our community, including the family and friends of Ricky Cobb, the troopers who were involved, and our broader community,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in a written statement. “I take both police accountability and the integrity of the legal process very seriously.”

    Cobb’s mother said his death has had a “devastating” impact on his children and siblings.

    “I’m hurting so incredibly bad from my heart, my soul and my body,” Fields-Miller said. “I want justice for my son.”

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  • Los Angeles County law enforcement recruit dies 8 months after group of trainees were struck by wrong-way driver while on a training run | CNN

    Los Angeles County law enforcement recruit dies 8 months after group of trainees were struck by wrong-way driver while on a training run | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    A Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department recruit died eight months after he was struck by a driver who hit around two dozen recruits on a training run in Whittier, California, according to authorities.

    Alejandro Martinez, 27, died Friday at the Ronald Reagan University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center surrounded by friends, family, and members of the sheriff’s department after months of fighting for his life, according to a statement from the department.

    “Today, Alejandro succumbed to his injuries,” the sheriff’s department said in an online statement. “Tragically, he was not able to fulfill his calling of helping others.”

    Martinez was on a training run with around 75 other recruits the morning of November 16, 2022, when an SUV drove into the group. Twenty-five of the recruits suffered injuries, with five initially listed in critical condition.

    The driver, 22-year-old Nicholas Joseph Gutierrez, was driving the wrong way when the incident occurred, according to the sheriff’s department. He showed no signs of impairment and blew a zero in a Breathalyzer test administered after the incident.

    He was alone in the vehicle at the time of the crash, the sheriff’s department told CNN.

    “It looked like an airplane wreck – so many bodies scattered everywhere in different states of injury,” Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said in a news conference after the crash. “It was pretty traumatic for all individuals.”

    Officials initially said the crash appeared to have been “a horrific accident.” That characterization changed dramatically when the department arrested Gutierrez on suspicion of attempted murder of peace officers. However, he was released from jail a day later, according to records that indicated the initial complaint was insufficient to hold him.

    “I have no doubt that an in-depth investigation will confirm that Nicholas is a hard working young man who holds no animosity towards law enforcement, and this was an absolutely tragic accident,” an attorney for Gutierrez, Alexandra Kazarian, told CNN affiliate KABC after the incident.

    The California Highway Patrol is still investigating the incident, the agency told CNN Sunday in an email.

    “The CHP continues to actively conduct a fair and impartial investigation to determine the cause of the crash and Gutierrez’s criminal culpability,” the highway patrol said. “Currently, there are no further updates to provide.”

    Flags at the state capital will be flown at half-staff in honor of Martinez’s memory, Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement Sunday.

    “Jennifer and I are heartbroken by the tragic passing of Alejandro Martinez, our deepest condolences are with his family, friends, and academy classmates at this difficult time,” Newsom said. “Recruit Martinez was dedicated to serving his community, and his commitment to California will never be forgotten.”

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  • Melting ice reveals remains of climber lost on glacier 37 years ago | CNN

    Melting ice reveals remains of climber lost on glacier 37 years ago | CNN

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    Berlin
    CNN
     — 

    The remains of a German mountain climber who went missing 37 years ago while hiking along a glacier near Switzerland’s iconic Matterhorn have been recovered, as melting glaciers lead to the re-emergence of bodies and objects thought to be long lost.

    Climbers hiking along the Theodul Glacier in Zermatt on July 12 discovered human remains and several pieces of equipment, police in the Valais canton said in a statement Thursday.

    “DNA analysis enabled the identification of a mountain climber who had been missing since 1986,” police said in a statement. “In September 1986, a German climber, who was 38 at the time, had been reported missing after not returning from a hike.”

    Police said that searches for the disappeared climber at the time proved unsuccessful.

    The climber’s remains underwent a forensic analysis at Valais Hospital, allowing experts to link them to the 1986 disappearance, police added Thursday.

    Police did not provide additional information of the German alpinist’s identity nor on the circumstances of his death.

    Authorities released a photograph of a lone hiking boot with red laces sticking out of the snow, along with some hiking equipment that had belonged to the missing person.

    “The recession of the glaciers increasingly brings to light missing alpinists who were reported missing several decades ago,” police concluded in the statement.

    The discovery of the remains of the German climber comes as scientists revealed earlier this week that this month is on track to be the planet’s hottest in around 120,000 years.

    Glaciologist Lindsey Nicholson at the University of Innsbruck, in Austria, told CNN Friday that shrinking glaciers due to climate change have led to the discovery of bodies of climbers who disappeared.

    “As the glaciers retreat, any material – including people who have fallen into or onto them and have been buried by subsequent snow – will emerge. All glaciers are melting very fast and receding across the European Alps,” Nicholson said.

    Last year, Swiss glaciers recorded their worst melt rate since records began more than a century ago, losing 6% of their remaining volume in 2022, nearly double the previous record of 2003, Reuters reported.

    The melt was so extreme in 2022 that bare rock that had remained buried for millennia re-emerged at one site while bodies and even a plane lost elsewhere in the Alps decades ago were recovered.

    In 2015, the remains of two Japanese climbers who went missing on the Matterhorn in a 1970 snowstorm were found and their identities confirmed through the DNA testing of their relatives.

    “The glaciers are undergoing a long-term trend of melting,” Nicholson said, adding the trend is expected to continue, with “low snow years” contributing to the problem.

    “The reduced snow amount is also partly coupled to the change in temperatures, because what happens is some of the precipitation that … would have come in the form of snow, now comes in the form of rain. That does not help the glaciers, it works against them,” she added.

    Even if ambitious climate targets are met, up to half of the world’s glaciers could disappear by the end of the century, according to recent research.

    “If we continue with the emissions we are transmitting now, we are looking at a largely deglaciated Alps region for generations to come – and that is very sad,” Nicholson warned.

    The disappearance of glaciers will have cascading impacts.

    Glaciers play a vital role in providing fresh water for nearly 2 billion people and they are also a key contributor to sea level rise.

    “Some regions of the world are much more dependent on the glacier mountains than we are here – in some cases they are much more vulnerable than the Alps,” Nicholson added.

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  • Typhoon Doksuri kills at least five as Philippines battles floods and landslides | CNN

    Typhoon Doksuri kills at least five as Philippines battles floods and landslides | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    A powerful typhoon brought widespread flooding and landslides to the Philippines on Wednesday, killing at least five people, authorities in the country said.

    Typhoon Doksuri, known as Egay in the Philippines, has caused flooding across five regions and more than a dozen rain-induced landslides, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

    One victim was killed in the central region of Calabarzon and four died in the mountainous Cordillera region, another two people were injured elsewhere in the country, the agency said.

    The storm made landfall at 3:10 a.m. local time (3:10 p.m. ET) near remote northern Fuga Island, said Pagasa, the Philippine weather bureau.

    Though it has weakened from super typhoon strength, Doksuri arrived with winds of about 220 kilometers per hour (140 mph), according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center – equivalent to a category 4 Atlantic hurricane.

    Pagasa warned that violent and life-threatening conditions were expected in some areas of Luzon, the Philippines’ largest and most populous island, as torrential rains rains swept the country.

    The typhoon unleashed up to 16 inches (0.4 meters) of rain, with the potential to reach 20 inches (0.5 meters) from its 680-kilometer (420-mile) rainband, Pasgasa said.

    Authorities also warned of tidal surges up to 3 meters (nearly 10 feet).

    Local governments on Tuesday began evacuating some people living in the storm’s path in anticipation of winds reaching 200 kph (124 mph).

    The governor of Cagayan province, which suspended schools and closed offices, said more than 12,000 people were evacuated from coastal and mountain towns by Tuesday evening.

    “It’s a powerful typhoon and we want to take as many preemptive measures as possible,” Gov. Cagayan Manuel Mamba told CNN.

    Officials also canceled at least a dozen domestic flights from Wednesday through Friday.

    Strong winds knock down a tree in Cagayan province in the Philippines on July 25, 2023.

    The typhoon is expected to weaken as it heads northwest – though Taiwan and China are bracing for potentially heavy rainfall and strong winds.

    The typhoon prompted Taiwan to cancel some of its annual military drills Tuesday as it faced the prospect of what could be the strongest storm to hit the self-governing island in four years.

    The typhoon’s outer bands are beginning to impact eastern Taiwan, according to the island’s Central Weather Bureau. It is expected to continue to weaken to the equivalent of a category 1 Atlantic hurricane as it tracks northwest, potentially making a second landfall in the next two days on China’s southern coastline.

    China’s National Meteorological Center raised its typhoon emergency warning to the highest level on Wednesday as Doksuri is projected to land by Friday along the southeast coast where Fujian and Guangdong provinces meet.

    Chinese authorities have told fishing boats to return to port immediately and warned farmers to take preventive measures to avoid flooding of crops.

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