Politics

Police say a new fire burning on the Hawaii island of Maui has triggered the evacuation of a community to the northeast of the area that burned earlier this week. the Maui Police Department says the fire prompted the evacuation of people in Kaanapali in West Maui on Friday night. No details of the evacuation were immediately provided. Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez’s office will be conducting a comprehensive review of decision-making and standing policies leading up to, during and after the wildfires. Lopez announced the review in a statement Friday. The Maui County water agency director also said Friday that hundreds of pipes have been damaged by the wildfires. Maui County officials say 67 people are confirmed dead from wildfires burning in Hawaii.

Police say a new fire burning on the Hawaii island of Maui on Friday night has triggered evacuations of a community to the northeast of the area that burned earlier this week. The Maui Police Department says the fire prompted the evacuation of people in Kaanapali in West Maui. No details of the evacuation were immediately provided. The number of confirmed deaths from the Maui wildfires has increased to 67. Maui County officials on Friday confirmed an additional 12 deaths as of the afternoon. Officials say the fire is not yet contained. Associated Press journalists witnessed the destruction in Lahaina on Friday. The tourism destination was mostly destroyed by the blaze. Many survivors of the fire say they did not receive a warning that gave them enough time to flee.

The federal judge overseeing the election conspiracy case against Donald Trump is warning that there are limits on what the former president can publicly say about evidence in the investigation as he campaigns for a second term in the White House. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkin heard arguments Friday on how to structure a protective order that would prevent a public airing of all the evidence turned over by prosecutors. But she also used the forum to address the case’s unprecedented mix of legal and political concerns. Chutkan stressed that political considerations wouldn’t guide her decisions.

The appointment of a special counsel to oversee the Justice Department’s probe of Hunter Biden is bringing renewed attention on the role such prosecutors have played in history. On Friday, Attorney General Merrick Garland tapped David Weiss to oversee the department’s investigation. Weiss is the U.S. attorney in Delaware who has been probing the financial and business dealings of the president’s son. A special counsel is an attorney appointed to investigate, and possibly prosecute, a case in which the Justice Department perceives itself as having a conflict or where it’s deemed to be in the public interest to have someone outside the government come in and take responsibility.

Republican presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis is dismissing concerns about his latest staffing shakeup as he returns to Iowa in the midst of a weekslong campaign reset. The Florida governor has declined to talk about the two rounds of campaign layoffs he made recently in response to unexpected fundraising troubles. Whether DeSantis acknowledges his challenges or not, the threats remain. Five months before the first votes are cast in Iowa’s opening presidential primary contest, a growing chorus of Republican would-be supporters is questioning DeSantis’ core “anti-woke” message and his political instincts. And new signs of tension have emerged between DeSantis’ formal campaign and an allied super PAC.