International
Hawaii: Maui Fire Death Toll Reaches 106
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.
“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.
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.
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.
International
Japan lifts tsunami alert after strong 7.6-magnitude earthquake hits northern coast
A powerful 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck Japan’s northern coast on Monday, triggering several tsunami waves of up to 70 centimeters, authorities said. The tsunami alert was lifted in the early hours of Tuesday.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the quake occurred at 11:15 p.m. local time (14:15 GMT) off the coast of Misawa, at a depth of 53 kilometers. Japan’s Meteorological Agency (JMA) immediately issued a tsunami warning. The first wave reached a port in Aomori Prefecture at 11:43 p.m. (14:43 GMT), followed by others measuring up to 70 centimeters.
Public broadcaster NHK reported that an employee at a hotel in the city of Hachinohe confirmed that several people were injured. Live footage showed shattered glass scattered across roads, while many residents evacuated to the city hall seeking shelter.
The strong tremor was also felt in Sapporo, where emergency alerts were sent to residents’ mobile phones. A reporter in Hokkaido described a horizontal shaking that lasted around 30 seconds, making it difficult to stay standing.
Before the alert was lifted, the JMA had warned of the possibility of tsunami waves up to three meters high along Japan’s Pacific coast. Government spokesperson Minoru Kihara urged residents to remain in safe areas until the warning was officially lifted.
International
Interior Dept. redefines 2026 Patriotic Days, sparking criticism over removed civil rights holidays
A statement from the Department of the Interior announced that there will be eight designated “patriotic” days in 2026, most of them different from those recognized in the previous two years.
In addition to June 14, 2026—which marks both Flag Day and Donald Trump’s 80th birthday—the calendar includes Presidents’ Day on February 16, Memorial Day on May 5 in honor of U.S. soldiers killed in combat, Independence Day weekend from July 3–5, Constitution Day on September 17, and Veterans Day on November 11, which honors former service members.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day (January 19, 2026) and Juneteenth (June 19)—a holiday commemorating the end of slavery—are typically included among free-entry days but have now been removed.
Critics argue that the changes are designed to promote the president while downplaying the nation’s history of slavery and the civil rights struggle.
“The president didn’t just add his own birthday to the list; he removed the two holidays that commemorate the African American fight for civil rights and freedom. Our country deserves better,” lamented Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto on X.
Starting in 2026, free admission on these eight selected days will apply only to U.S. citizens and permanent residents. “Non-residents will pay the regular entrance fee and the applicable non-resident rates,” the National Park Service (NPS) stated.
The cost of an annual entry pass will rise to $80 for residents and $250 for non-residents. Those without an annual pass will be required to pay $100 per person to enter 11 of the most visited national parks, in addition to the standard entrance fee.
Earlier this year, Trump marked his 79th birthday—which coincided with the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army—by organizing an unusual military parade in downtown Washington.
The United States has 63 national parks, federally protected areas designated by Congress. Last year, they received more than 330 million visitors.
International
Five laboratories investigated in Spain over possible African Swine Fever leak
Catalan authorities announced this Saturday that a total of five laboratories are under investigation over a possible leak of the African swine fever virus, which is currently affecting Spain and has put Europe’s largest pork producer on alert.
“We have commissioned an audit of all facilities, of all centers within the 20-kilometer risk zone that are working with the African swine fever virus,” said Salvador Illa, president of the Catalonia regional government, during a press conference. Catalonia is the only Spanish region affected so far. “There are only a few centers, no more than five,” Illa added, one day after the first laboratory was announced as a potential source of the outbreak.
Illa also reported that the 80,000 pigs located on the 55 farms within the risk zone are healthy and “can be made available for human consumption following the established protocols.” Therefore, he said, “they may be safely marketed on the Spanish market.”
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