The Full Belmonte, 8/10/2023
At least 36 people have died in fires burning through Maui, county reports
“At least 36 people have died in the Lahaina fire in Hawaii, Maui County wrote in a statement posted to the county website Wednesday evening. Officials said earlier that 271 structures were damaged or destroyed and dozens of people injured. Wildfires, whipped by strong winds from Hurricane Dora passing far to the south, took the island of Maui by surprise, leaving behind burned-out cars on once busy streets and smoking piles of rubble where historic buildings had stood. Read more.
Why this matters:
On Wednesday, crews were continuing to battle blazes in several places on the island. Authorities urged visitors to stay away. The fires were the latest in a series of problems caused by extreme weather around the globe this summer. Experts say climate change is increasing the likelihood of such events.
Fires in Hawaii are unlike many of those burning in the U.S. West. They tend to break out in large grasslands on the dry sides of the islands and are generally much smaller than mainland fires.
Trade winds are a normal feature of Hawaii’s climate. But Hurricane Dora, which passed south of the islands this week, is exacerbating the low-pressure system and creating ‘unusually strong trade winds,’ said Genki Kino, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. Strong winds, combined with low humidity and dry vegetation that burns easily, can increase the danger of wildfire.” [AP News]
Zeke Kalua/County of Maui via AP
Trump
“Two employees of President Donald Trump are set to be arraigned today on new charges brought by the special counsel in the case regarding the alleged mishandling of classified documents. Carlos De Oliveira, a property manager at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence, and Trump's body-man Walt Nauta have been charged with multiple offenses related to Trump's alleged unlawful retention of documents after leaving office. The charges Nauta and De Oliveira face include making false statements, conspiracy to obstruct justice and corruptly altering, destroying, mutilating, or concealing documents. The indictment also alleges that the two men asked an employee if they could delete security footage at Mar-a-Lago. The pair also made false statements to investigators regarding their involvement in moving Trump's boxes out of a storage room, prosecutors allege.” [CNN]
“JUST POSTED — “Clarence Thomas’ 38 Vacations: The Other Billionaires Who Have Treated the Supreme Court Justice to Luxury Travel,” by ProPublica’s Brett Murphy and Alex Mierjeski: ‘The fullest accounting yet shows how [Justice CLARENCE] THOMAS has secretly reaped the benefits from a network of wealthy and well-connected patrons that is far more extensive than previously understood.’” [POLITICO]
The FBI fatally shot a man after alleged threats against President Biden.
“What to know: The shooting took place as agents were serving an arrest warrant yesterday in Provo, Utah. The man had allegedly threatened to kill Biden and other officials.
The timing: It came ahead of Biden’s visit to Salt Lake City, less than an hour’s drive north of Provo. Biden arrived in the city yesterday as part of a tour of Western states.”
Read this story at Washington Post
Anti-corruption Ecuadorian presidential candidate assassinated at campaign event
Villavicencio in Quito on Aug. 8. Photographer: Rodrigo Buenida/AFP/Getty Images
“Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, known for speaking up against cartels and corruption, was shot and killed Wednesday at a political rally in the capital amid a startling wave of gang-driven violence in the South American country. Read more.
Why this matters:
President Guillermo Lasso confirmed the assassination and suggested organized crime was behind the slaying, less than two weeks before the Aug. 20 presidential election.
Villavicencio was an independent journalist who investigated corruption in previous governments, later entering politics as an anti-graft campaigner and filing many judicial complaints against high-ranking members of the Correa government, including against the ex-president himself.
Prior to the shooting, Villavicencio said he had received multiple death threats, including from affiliates of Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, one of a slew of international organized crime groups that operate in Ecuador. He also said his campaign represented a threat to such groups.” [AP News]
Twitter was fined $350,000 for failing to turn over Donald Trump’s data.
“The details: Twitter was ordered in March to give the data to the special counsel investigating the lead-up to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack, new court filings show.
Why was it fined? For handing the data over after a court-ordered deadline.
What was in the data? It’s not clear. But an indictment against the former president, revealed this month, references 18 of his tweets, including seven from Jan. 6.”
Read this story at Washington Post
Boat dock brawl
“Two men charged in connection with a brawl at a Montgomery riverfront dock are in police custody, Alabama authorities say. A third man was also charged with third-degree assault in connection with the fight and had turned himself in earlier. Video of the incident shows the brawl escalate after a Black employee was attacked by several men, identified by authorities as White. One witness alleged in a sworn statement to police that a racial slur was used. However, Montgomery Police Chief Darryl J. Albert told CNN his department still believes the brawl was not racially motivated. The police chief said investigators worked with the FBI to examine whether to file hate crime charges in this case but were ‘unable to present any inciting a riot or racially biased charges at this time.’” [CNN]
Dems' new data edge
Illustration: Natalie Peeples/Axios
“President Biden's campaign — racing Republicans to identify persuadable 2024 voters — is deploying a new database that includes 90% of U.S. voters, gleaned from 500 organizations during the past decade.
Why it matters: It's a new frontier in the information war between Democrats and Republicans, as both parties scramble for a technological edge in a 50-50 nation, Axios' Sophia Cai reports.
The database, run by an independent firm called Democratic Data Exchange (DDx), allows Democrats and allied groups — campaigns, state parties, super PACs and hundreds more — to bridge a longtime inability to share information.
That information includes whether the voters have been hostile to previous outreach, and whether they speak English.
The backstory: Democrats involved with the program say the database is a response to Republicans' Data Trust, an independent information warehouse that shares data and information with conservative groups under an agreement with the Republican National Committee.
Republicans created Data Trust after Democrats dominated the data battlefield by pinpointing 15 million swing voters who were vital to President Obama's re-election in 2012.
GOP architect Karl Rove says Data Trust — which now includes information on more than 200 million voters — was a response to the "campaign data arms race."
Democratic campaigns and allied groups, including House Majority PAC and Everytown for Gun Safety, pay a membership fee to join the exchange, and earn credits by contributing data.” [Axios]
A year ago, an Iranian woman’s death sparked hijab protests. Now businesses are a new battleground
“For months, Iranian authorities did little to enforce the law on women covering their hair, but now the country’s theocracy is pushing to make businesses the new battleground over the mandatory headscarf. The effort comes ahead of the first anniversary of nationwide protests that erupted after the Sept. 16 death of Mahsa Amini and a crackdown by security forces that followed saw more than 530 people killed and over 22,000 arrested. Read more.
Why this matters:
Authorities in Iran have begun raiding companies where women employees or customers have been seen without the headscarf, or hijab and Iran’s parliament is discussing a law that would increase punishments on uncovered women and the businesses they frequent.
Police are sending warning text messages to women seen without the veil in cars and have scoured social media for companies with images of uncovered women in the workplace. Outdoor café seating is banned in the northeastern city of Mashhad and authorities have threatened to shut down film productions that have women without headscarves working behind cameras.
The developments could foment new unrest as parliamentary elections loom next year and the country’s economy struggles under the weight of international sanctions imposed over Iran’s nuclear program.” [AP News]
”A surge in US gun exports is inundating countries that are ill-equipped to handle it. Look no further than Guatemala: Shipments there have more than doubled after a regulatory change in 2020, making it the top destination for American-made semiautomatics in Latin America. That has contributed to an explosion of gun-related violence and exposed deficiencies in US regulations intended to prevent weapons being used for crimes abroad.” [Bloomberg]
“Pakistan dissolved the national parliament as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif moves to hand over power to a caretaker government in the lead up to elections while his rival Imran Khan seeks a court review of his jail sentence that’s barring him from running. There’s speculation the federal and provincial polls could be shifted to next year after Sharif indicated they must be based on new population data.” [Bloomberg]
“The leaders of Niger’s coup are depriving ousted President Mohamed Bazoum of food, water and electricity at an army camp where he’s been held captive for the past two weeks, sources say.” [Bloomberg]
“Since Russia’s invasion, Ukraine’s resilience with the help of mainly NATO-member weaponry has come to define the war. Less noticed is a cottage industry of battlefield gadgetry that’s starting to bear fruit. Ukraine’s government in April started an incubator for all forms of military innovation, called Brave 1, and the armed forces have so far vetted 186 as potentially useful. Sixty are in robotics, more than 25 in AI, and 70 are for unmanned aerial vehicles.” [Bloomberg]
Volunteers build Power Kit power banks for the Ukrainian military using lithium batteries from used e-cigarettes in Kyiv, on July 1. Photographer: Pete Kiehart/Bloomberg
”Italy’s banks are paying the price for Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s need to cater to the more populist elements in her right-wing coalition. A last-minute decision to slap a big tax on bank profits after wrangling with Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini meant the policy was full of holes when it was announced. As bank stocks plummeted, Finance Ministry officials had to scramble to work out how to implement their bosses’ broad-brush plans and reassure investors, sources say.” [Bloomberg]
Robbie Robertson, the guitarist and songwriter of the Band, has died.
Robertson in 1971. (Michael Putland/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
“How we’ll remember him: As the leader of the influential folk-rock group. He wrote some of its biggest hits, including “The Weight” and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.”
What we know: The 80-year-old died yesterday, his manager said. No cause was given.”
Read this story at Washington Post