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Hawaii’s governor has warned that dozens more could be dead on the island of Maui following devastating wildfires – which have already claimed the lives of 96 people.

“We are prepared for many tragic stories,” Governor Josh Green told US media on Monday.

“They will find 10 to 20 people per day, probably, until they finish. And it’s probably going to take 10 days. It’s impossible to guess, really.”

Cadaver dogs and dozens of searchers have been sweeping through homes and buildings reduced to ash by the wildfires.

“Right now, they’re going street by street, block by block between cars, and soon they’ll start to enter buildings,” Jeff Hickman, director of public affairs for the Hawaii Department of Defence told NBC’s Today.

Destroyed homes and vehicles are seen in a neighborhood, Sunday, Aug. 13, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii, following a deadly wildfire that caused heavy damage days earlier. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
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Pic: AP

Donated clothes are gathered in a parking lot, Sunday, Aug. 13, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii, following heavy damage caused by wildfire in the area. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
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Donated clothes are gathered in a car park in Lahaina, Hawaii. Pic: AP

Fires continue to burn on the island, including one wildfire in the centrally located Upcountry area, which is still only 60% contained.

Hot spots in ditches and other hard to reach places have made controlling the fire difficult, according to officials in their latest update.

Firefighters say the Lahaina blaze is now 85% contained, while wildfires in the Pulehu and Kaanapali areas have now been 100% contained.

The town of Lahaina has been the worst hit area, with nearly every building in the town of 13,000 people destroyed.

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Hawaii fires: Teens film escape into sea

Hotels are being made available for locals who have been displaced by the fire – while aid workers will also be put up in rooms as the recovery efforts continue.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has started to provide $700 (£550) to displaced residents to cover the cost of food, water, first aid and medical supplies, agency administrator Deanne Criswell said Monday.

A map showing the location of Maui
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A map showing the location of Maui

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“We’re not taking anything off the table, and we’re going to be very creative in how we use our authorities to help build communities and help people find a place to stay for the longer term,” Criswell said.

British rock star Mick Fleetwood, who has lived in Hawaii for decades, described the situation in Lahaina as “catastrophic”.

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‘Catastrophic’ Hawaii wildfires

The Fleetwood Mac drummer told Sky News that the disaster had been “an incredible shock for everyone” – and described the scene as “complete devastation”.

Fleetwood revealed he was in LA visiting family when the fires broke out but flew back immediately, bringing supplies with him.

His house was untouched but the town of Lahaina, where he owns a popular restaurant, has been decimated.

His restaurant, Fleetwood’s on Front St, was about to celebrate its 11th anniversary this week – but it has been destroyed by the blaze, and many of his staff have lost everything.

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Hawaii wildfire: Oprah visits victims

Gusts of up to 85mph and dry conditions helped fuel the flames and prevented helicopters aiding the efforts of firefighters to contain the blaze, according to officials.

Experts say a lot of the landscape of Maui is now covered in “highly flammable grass species” as people have moved away from farming, while others have warned climate change is increasing the likelihood of more extreme weather.

The five deadliest wildfires in US history

1871: Peshtigo, Wisconsin – 1,152

1918: Cloquet, Minnesota – 453

1894: Hinckley, Minnesota – 418

1881: Thumb, Michigan – 282

2023: Maui, Hawaii – 96 (final toll yet to be confirmed)

Source: National Fire Protection Association

The fire is the deadliest wildfire that the US has seen in more than 100 years – surpassing the 85 who died in California’s Camp Fire in 2018 – while Governor Green said it was the largest natural disaster the US state had ever faced.

The deadliest fire in US history was in Peshtigo, Wisconsin, in 1871, which killed more than 1,150 people.

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Donald Trump’s tariffs will have consequences for globalisation, the US economy and geopolitics

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Donald Trump's tariffs will have consequences for globalisation, the US economy and geopolitics

For decades, trade and trade policy has been an economic and political backwater – decidedly boring, seemingly uncontroversial. 

Trade was mostly free and getting freer, tariffs were getting lower and lower, and the world was becoming more, not less, globalised.

But alongside those long-term trends, there were some serious consequences.

Trump latest: US president announces sweeping global trade tariffs

Mature, developed economies like the UK and US became ever more reliant on cheap imports from China and, in the process, saw their manufacturing sectors shrink.

Large swathes of the rust belt in the US – and much of the Midlands and North of England – were hollowed out.

And to some extent that’s where the story of Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” really began – with the notion that free trade and globalisation had a darker side, a side he wants to remedy via tariffs.

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He imposed a set of tariffs in his first term, some on China, some on specific materials like steel and aluminium. But the height and the breadth of those tariffs were as nothing compared with the ones we have just heard about.

Not since the 1930s has the US so radically increased the level of tariffs on all nations across the world. Back then, those tariffs exacerbated the Great Depression.

It’s anyone’s guess as to what the consequences of these ones will be. But there will be consequences.

Consequences for the nature of globalisation, consequences for the US economy (tariffs are exceptionally inflationary), consequences for geopolitics.

President Trump with his list of tariffs for various countries. Pic: Reuters
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Imports from the UK will face a 10% tariff, while EU goods will see 20% rates. Pic: Reuters

And to some extent, merely knowing that little bit more about the White House’s plans will deliver a bit of relief to financial markets, which have fretted for months about the imposition of tariffs. That uncertainty recently reached unprecedented levels.

But don’t for a moment assume that this saga is over. Nothing of the sort. In the coming days, we will learn more – more about the nuts and bolts of these policies, more about the retaliatory measures coming from other countries.

We will, possibly, get more of a sense about whether some countries – including the UK – will enjoy reprieves from the tariffs.

To paraphrase Churchill, this isn’t the end of the trade war, or even the beginning of the end – perhaps just the end of the beginning.

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‘A genius actor’, ‘firecracker’, and ‘my friend’: Tributes paid to Top Gun star Val Kilmer

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'A genius actor', 'firecracker', and 'my friend': Tributes paid to Top Gun star Val Kilmer

Actors, directors and celebrity friends have paid tribute to Val Kilmer, after he died aged 65.

The California-born star of Top Gun, Batman and Heat died of pneumonia on Tuesday night in Los Angeles, his daughter Mercedes told the Associated Press.

She said Kilmer was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014 but later recovered.

Tributes flooded in after reports broke of the actor’s death, with No Country For Old Men star Josh Brolin among the first to share their memories.

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Watch: Val Kilmer in his most iconic roles

He wrote on Instagram: “See ya, pal. I’m going to miss you. You were a smart, challenging, brave, uber-creative firecracker. There’s not a lot left of those.

“I hope to see you up there in the heavens when I eventually get there. Until then, amazing memories, lovely thoughts.”

Kyle Maclachlan, who co-starred with Kilmer in the 1991 biopic The Doors, wrote on social media: “You’ll always be my Jim. See you on the other side my friend.”

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Michael Mann, who directed Kilmer in 1995’s Heat, also paid tribute in a statement, saying: “I always marvelled at the range, the brilliant variability within the powerful current of Val’s possessing and expressing character.

“After so many years of Val battling disease and maintaining his spirit, this is tremendously sad news.”

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Heat co-star Danny Trejo also called Kilmer “a great actor, a wonderful person, and a dear friend of mine” on Instagram.

Cher, who once dated the actor, said on X that “U Were Funny, crazy, pain in the ass, GREAT FRIEND… BRILLIANT as Mark Twain, BRAVE here during ur sickness”.

Lifelong friend and director of Twixt, Francis Ford Coppola said: “Val Kilmer was the most talented actor when in his High School, and that talent only grew greater throughout his life.

“He was a wonderful person to work with and a joy to know – I will always remember him.”

The Top Gun account on X also said it was remembering Kilmer, who starred as Iceman in both the 1986 original and 2022 sequel, and “whose indelible cinematic mark spanned genres and generations”.

Nicolas Cage added that “I always liked Val and am sad to hear of his passing”.

“I thought he was a genius actor,” he said. “I enjoyed working with him on Bad Lieutenant and I admired his commitment and sense of humor.

“He should have won the Oscar for The Doors.”

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Elon Musk calls reports he will step back from government role ‘fake news’

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Elon Musk calls reports he will step back from government role 'fake news'

Elon Musk has called reports that he will leave his government role in the coming months “fake news”.

A senior White House official previously told NBC News, Sky’s US partner network, that Donald Trump had discussed the Tesla and X boss transitioning back to the private sector at a cabinet meeting last month.

Donald Trump walks with Elon Musk before attending a viewing of the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket, in Brownsville, Texas, U.S., November 19, 2024 . Brandon Bell/Pool via REUTERS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
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The Tesla boss has headed DOGE since 20 January. File pic: Reuters

After reports emerged of the meeting, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said it was “garbage” and added: “Elon Musk and President Trump have both publicly stated that Elon will depart from public service as a special government employee when his incredible work at DOGE is complete.”

Mr Musk added in response on X: “Yeah, fake news.”

NBC News reported that the official said Mr Musk would leave at the end of his 130 days as a special government employee.

That would be 30 May, but it is unclear if the billionaire businessman will indeed leave on that date.

Previously, the White House said that as a temporary organisation, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) would be terminated on 4 July next year – the 250th anniversary of the US.

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It comes days after Mr Musk said some members of his DOGE team were getting death threats on a daily basis.

Mr Musk had drawn criticism over his efforts to downsize the US federal government.

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‘Elon Musk has got to go’

In just weeks, entire agencies were dismantled, and tens of thousands of workers from the 2.3 million federal workforce have been fired or have agreed to leave their jobs.

A number of lawsuits were filed in state and federal courts over cuts recommended by DOGE.

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