Hawaii wildfires: At least 106 killed – and children among victims yet to be identified, says governor

Published

11 months ago

August 16, 2023

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The blaze that burned through the historic town of Lahaina on Maui last week has killed at least 106 people, Hawaii’s governor has said.

The announcement came as officials working to identify those who have lost their lives named two of the victims – Robert Dyckman, 74, and Buddy Jantoc, 79.

A further three victims have been identified and their names will be released once authorities have informed their next of kin, a Maui County statement added.

“We offer our deepest condolences to the families who are beginning to receive notifications about their loved ones,” said Mayor Richard Bissen. “As a community, we offer our prayers of comfort in this most difficult time.”

The wildfires, some of which have not yet been fully contained, are already the deadliest in the US in more than a century. Their cause is being investigated.

A mobile morgue unit has been brought in, and Governor Josh Green warned more bodies could be found.

Asked if children are among the missing, Mr Green told Hawaii News Now: “Tragically, yes… when the bodies are smaller, we know it’s a child.”

“The scale of destruction is incredible,” he said, adding the recovery will take time.

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President Joe Biden, who has faced criticism over his response to the fires, said on Tuesday he and first lady Jill Biden would visit Hawaii “as soon as we can”, but he does not want his presence to interrupt recovery and clean-up efforts.

During a stop in Milwaukee to highlight his economic agenda, Mr Biden pledged “every asset they need will be there for them”.

The blaze that swept into centuries-old Lahaina last week destroyed nearly every building in the town of 13,000.

Survivors have been forced to seek shelter in hotel rooms set aside for displaced residents.

Even where the flames have retreated, authorities have warned that toxic by-products may remain, including in drinking water, after the flames spewed poisonous fumes. Many have been unable to return home as a result.

Donations of food, ice, water and other essentials have poured in.

Mary Kerstulovich, a Maui estate agent who has sought supplies and housing for evacuees, said there was finally a sense government relief was arriving a full week after the disaster, but a more effective plan is needed.

“There is still a lot of chaos. People need supplies still,” she said.

The fire destroyed or damaged more than 2,200 buildings, 86% of them residential, and caused an estimated $5.5bn (£4.3bn) in damage, officials said.

US

Defiant Biden attacks Trump but admits ‘I don’t debate as well as I used to’

Published

7 hours ago

June 28, 2024

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Defiant Biden attacks Trump but admits 'I don't debate as well as I used to'

Joe Biden has attacked Donald Trump at a rally a day after the president’s “shocking” performance in a head-to-head debate.

“I don’t walk as easy as I used to, I don’t speak as smoothly as I used to, I don’t debate as well as I used to but I know what I do know,” said President Biden. “I know how to tell the truth.”

His performance in the debate against Trump on Thursday night was described as an “unmitigated disaster” by some in his own party after he paused and stumbled his way through, prompting calls for him to step down.

“I give you my word as a Biden, I wouldn’t be running again if I did not believe, with all my heart and soul, I can do this job,” he told the rally in North Carolina.

Mr Biden attacked the former president’s criminal record, calling Donald Trump a “one-man crimewave”.

“My guess is he set a new record for the most lies told in a single debate,” he added, telling the crowd he spent “90 minutes on the stage debating a guy with the morals of an alley cat”.

Hours later, Donald Trump was jubilant at a rally in Chesapeak, Virginia.

“Never mind that crooked Joe Biden spent a week at Camp David, resting, working, studying – he studied so hard he didn’t know what the hell he was doing,” said Mr Trump to the crowd.

“Biden’s problem is not his age, […] he’s got no problem other than his competence. He’s grossly incompetent,” he added.

Bad debate nights happen

Barack Obama tweeted his support for President Biden on Friday evening, saying: “Bad debate nights happen. Trust me, I know.”

But others remained unconvinced Joe Biden should run for president.

“I do not think President Joe Biden can be the Democratic Party’s standard-bearer in 2024,” former White House director of global engagement Brett Bruen told Sky News’ Yalda Hakim.

“Last night’s performance was astonishingly bad. You cannot just be strong on the teleprompter,” he said.

But Anthony Scaramucci, former White House communications director, blamed the president’s poor performance on his preparation.

“He wasn’t prepped right for that debate. He’s an older man,” Mr Scaramucci told Yalda Hakim.

“You don’t fill his head with facts and figures he’s never going to remember.”

There have been repeated calls for President Biden to step down.

It’s “time to talk about an open convention and a new Democratic nominee,” one Democratic politician told Sky’s US partner network NBC News.

However, while Vice President Kamala Harris acknowledged that President Joe Biden had a “slow start” in the debate, she insisted that he finished “strong”.

At a Waffle House restaurant in Atlanta after the debate, Biden told reporters he did not have concerns about his performance. “It’s hard to debate a liar,” he said.

US

Joe Biden: Could the Democrats replace him as US election nominee and how might that work?

Published

7 hours ago

June 28, 2024

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Joe Biden: Could the Democrats replace him as US election nominee and how might that work?

Joe Biden’s stumbling performance in the US presidential debate has sparked alarm among Democrats – but could he be replaced against his will and how might that work?

A national US party has never tried to force an election candidate to step down in the modern era and their rules make it almost impossible to do so.

Latest: Reaction to Biden v Trump debate

The issue came before both parties in 2016, but neither took action and there’s currently no known effort to force Mr Biden to give way.

It would mean Democrat officials overturning the results of the state primaries – the votes that took place earlier this year that confirmed Mr Biden as the overwhelming pick for November’s election.

The 81-year-old won virtually all the delegates – and they are now set to go through the customary process of rubberstamping his nomination at the Democratic National Convention in August.

There are ways to replace a nominee if they die, resign or are incapacitated, but forcing Mr Biden out would mean delegates choosing another candidate.

It appears highly unlikely, as they were chosen in the primaries because of their loyalty to the president and with the trust that they would vote for him at the convention.

However, there is a potential “loophole” in that Democrat rules allow them to “in all good conscience reflect the sentiments of those who elected them”.

So if concerns about his performance and mental acuity reach critical level this could be a way forward.

Watch a special programme with reaction to the US presidential debate on The World with Yalda Hakim on Sky News from 6pm

What if Biden withdraws himself?

This is the only plausible scenario for the Democrats to choose a new candidate to take on Donald Trump.

Mr Biden has repeatedly dismissed this option during other turbulent times, but if he changed his mind he could simply serve out the remaining months of his presidency.

Such a U-turn would create a frenzy among Democrats as there’s no protocol in place for him or the party to choose a new candidate before August’s convention.

It takes a majority of the party’s 4,000 or so delegates to win the presidential nomination – and Mr Biden secured about 3,900 of them in the primaries.

The president would have some influence over his pledged delegates, but ultimately they can vote as they please – so it could become a ‘free for all’ with candidates campaigning aggressively to win them over.

If the president decides to pull out after the convention takes place, the chair of the party can call a special meeting of around 500 members.

They can – in theory – choose a new nominee via a simple majority vote.

However, such a process would likely be far more turbulent with behind-the-scenes jockeying and public campaigning.

If Mr Biden withdrew even closer to the 5 November election, it could raise constitutional, legal and practical concerns.

For example, voting papers have to be printed well in advance and it might not be possible to change them in time.

Would vice president Kamala Harris replace Biden?

If Mr Biden were to resign immediately as president, Kamala Harris would automatically succeed him – but would not also become Democratic nominee.

She might be politically favoured if he ditched his re-election bid, but Mr Biden’s delegates would not transfer to her as of right, and it would be a level playing field with the other hopefuls.

Who could be favourite if Biden steps back?

Two frontunners – if they chose to put themselves forward – could be California governor Gavin Newsom, 56, or Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer.

They didn’t enter this year’s primaries but have both been talked about as potential Democrat nominees in future.

For now at least, Mr Newsom appears to be sticking firmly behind the president.

He told reporters after Thursday’s debate his party “could not be more wholly unified behind Biden” and he shouldn’t step aside.

Mr Newsom has been California governor since 2019 and was also San Francisco’s mayor for seven years. Before that, he founded a winery in the state’s upmarket Napa Valley.

Ms Whitmer, a lawyer and former prosecutor, was the Senate’s first female Democratic leader and became governor in 2018.

The 52-year-old also served as co-chair of Joe Biden’s 2020 election campaign.

She’s previously said she would have no interest in replacing Mr Biden in this year’s election – and backed him again on Friday.

“Joe Biden is running to serve the American people. Donald Trump is running to serve Donald Trump,” she said.

However, if the president pulls out of his own volition, could she change her mind?

Democrats including Minnesota’s Dean Phillips and Jason Palmer, who actually beat Mr Biden in American Samoa, might also try their hand.

They were his main rivals in the primaries but only got a couple of delegates each, so would likely struggle to pull in enough support.

US

Can Joe Biden carry on?

Published

7 hours ago

June 28, 2024

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Joe Biden and Donald Trump faced off in the first election debate of this year’s US presidential campaign on Thursday night.

The president was seen to mumble and stumble his way through, while Mr Trump repeated false claims that the 2020 election was rigged.

On this episode, Niall Paterson unpicks the debate between the senior citizens – with our US correspondent James Matthews in Georgia on the hits and misses, and pollster Scarlett Maguire on how American voters are feeling about the upcoming election.

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Producer: Soila Apparicio
Editor: Philly Beaumont