International

Hawaii: Maui Fire Death Toll Reaches 106

Photo: Reuters

August 16|

A mobile morgue unit arrived Tuesday to assist Hawaii officials working hard to identify remains, while Maui County released the names of people who died in the wildfire that nearly incinerated the historic town of Lahaina a week ago and brought the death toll to 106.

The county named two victims, Lahaina residents Robert Dyckman, 74, and Buddy Jantoc, 79, and added in a statement that three other victims were identified.

Those names will be released once the county has identified next of kin.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services deployed a team of medical examiners, pathologists and technicians along with examination tables, X-ray units and other equipment to identify the victims and process the remains, said Jonathan Greene, the agency’s deputy assistant secretary for response.

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“It’s going to be a very, very difficult mission,” Greene said. “And patience is going to be incredibly important because of the number of victims.”

A week after a fire swept through historic Lahaina, many survivors began moving into hundreds of hotel rooms set aside for displaced locals as donations of food, ice, water and other essentials arrived.

Crews using rescue dogs have scoured about 32 percent of the area, Maui County said in a statement Tuesday. Hawaii Gov. Josh Green asked for patience as authorities were overwhelmed with requests to visit the burned area.

Maui Police Chief John Pelletier renewed an appeal for families with missing relatives to provide DNA samples. So far 41 samples have been submitted, the county release said, and 13 DNA profiles have been obtained from the remains.

The governor warned that many more bodies could be found. The wildfires, some of which have yet to be fully contained, are already the deadliest in the US in more than a century. Their cause was under investigation.

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Asked by Hawaii News Now if children were among the missing, Green said Tuesday, “Tragically, yes…. When the bodies are smaller, we know it’s a child.”

He described some of the sites being searched as “too much to share or see from a human perspective.”

Another complicating factor, Green said, is that thunderstorms with rain and high winds are forecast for the weekend. Officials are considering whether or not to “preemptively shut down for a short period of time, because right now the entire infrastructure is weaker.”

A week after the fires began, some residents were still dealing with intermittent electricity, unreliable cell phone service and uncertainty about where to get help. Some people periodically walked to a seawall, where phone connections were stronger, to make calls. Flying low off the coast, a single-propeller plane used a loudspeaker to broadcast information about where to get water and supplies.

Victoria Martocci, who lost her diving business and a boat, planned to travel to her storage unit in Kahalui from her home in Kahana on Wednesday to hide documents and mementos given to her by a friend whose house burned down. “These are things she grabbed, the only things she could grab, and I want to keep them safe for her,” Martocci said.

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The local power company has already faced criticism for not shutting off power when high winds hit a parched area with a high risk of fire. It is unclear whether the utility’s equipment played any role in igniting the flames.

Hawaiian Electric Co. Inc. president and CEO Shelee Kimura said many factors played into the decision to shut off power, including the impact on people who rely on specialized medical equipment and concerns that an outage in the area of the fire would have knocked out water pumps.

Green has said the flames reached a speed of 1.6 kilometers per minute in one area, fueled by dry grass and driven by strong winds from a passing hurricane.

The fire that swept through century-old Lahaina last week destroyed nearly every building in the town of 13,000 people. That fire has been 85% contained, according to the county. Another fire known as the Upcountry fire was 60 percent contained.

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International

ICE agent arrested in Texas over shooting of Venezuelan migrant in Minnesota

U.S. authorities arrested an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent on Friday in Texas after he was accused of shooting a Venezuelan migrant in Minnesota earlier this year and later providing false information about the incident.

The suspect, identified as Christian Castro, faces four counts of second-degree assault, along with an additional charge related to filing a false official report. He was taken into custody after investigators from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension located him, according to a statement from the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.

The case stems from a January operation carried out by ICE during which Castro shot Julio César Sosa, a Venezuelan migrant, in the leg. Prosecutors allege that the agent later submitted a misleading account of the incident, claiming that Sosa and another migrant had attacked officers with a shovel and a broomstick.

However, investigators say that video evidence and further findings contradicted that version of events, leading to the dismissal of charges initially brought against the migrants by federal prosecutors.

ICE’s acting director, Todd Lyons, acknowledged in February that agents involved in the incident had given “false sworn testimony” about what occurred.

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty described Friday’s arrest as a “critical step forward” in the judicial process and reaffirmed that the investigation remains ongoing.

International

U.S. classifies CV and PCC as terrorist groups in major policy shift

The United States government announced on Thursday that it will add the Brazilian criminal organizations Comando Vermelho (CV) and Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) to its list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO), a designation set to take effect on June 5, 2026.

The State Department justified the decision by stating that both groups are among the most powerful criminal organizations in Brazil and accused them of coordinating violent attacks against police officers, public officials, and civilians.

The designation comes just days after Brazilian senator and presidential hopeful Flávio Bolsonaro directly asked U.S. President Donald Trump to classify these groups as “narco-terrorist” organizations during a visit to the White House.

Bolsonaro, who is running in Brazil’s upcoming presidential election in October, has made tougher action against organized crime and prison-based gangs a central part of his campaign platform.

He is part of a political dispute with current Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who has opposed the U.S. classification, warning it could open the door to potential foreign military intervention in Brazilian territory.

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The Comando Vermelho and Primeiro Comando da Capital emerged in Brazilian prisons during the 1970s and have since expanded their influence, now controlling extensive criminal activities including drug trafficking, extortion, smuggling, and other illicit operations.

According to security experts and Brazilian authorities, both organizations have tens of thousands of members and support networks spread across multiple states in the country.

The U.S. measure aims to increase financial and operational pressure on these groups by restricting funding sources, limiting international mobility, and expanding cooperation in security enforcement efforts.

International

U.S.–Iran pre-agreement aims to de-escalate tensions and secure key trade route

The United States confirmed on Thursday that its negotiators have reached a preliminary agreement with Iran aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz and extending the current ceasefire, though the understanding still requires final approval from U.S. President Donald Trump.

U.S. government sources confirmed information first reported exclusively by Axios, stating that the deal now only awaits the president’s endorsement.

According to Axios, citing two senior U.S. officials, the draft agreement stipulates that navigation through the Strait of Hormuz—previously blocked by Iran in response to U.S. and Israeli military actions—would be “unrestricted.”

The agreement reportedly includes provisions under which Iran would not impose transit fees in the strategic waterway, a critical route for global oil shipments. In parallel, the United States would lift maritime restrictions on vessels entering and leaving Iranian ports.

The memorandum of understanding also contains a commitment from Iran not to develop nuclear weapons, a key red line for President Trump. However, discussions on limiting Iran’s uranium enrichment would be postponed to later negotiations.

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These issues are expected to be addressed during a 60-day extension of the ceasefire, which has been in place since April.

In addition, the United States would consider easing sanctions on Iran and releasing frozen Iranian assets as part of the broader diplomatic framework.

Negotiations between Washington and Tehran have intensified over the past week with mediation from Pakistan, as both sides seek to formally end the conflict that began on February 28 involving the United States and Israel.

The White House has recently stated that a deal was “a matter of days away,” while Tehran has tempered expectations, suggesting that an agreement is not yet imminent.