August 14 top stories
It is August 14. Hope your weekend was good. Here are today’s top stories.
Maui wildfires now deadliest in US history
The death toll in the Lahaina, Maui wildfires has increased to at least 96 people. It is now the deadliest wildfire in U.S. history.
Officials said there could be many more found dead because search crews are still checking street by street. As of Saturday, crews with cadaver dogs had searched only about 3% of the area.
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said he predicts that crews would find 10 to 20 bodies per day and that it would take about 10 more days to finish searching the area that was ravaged. One tragic story is that a family of four was found dead inside a burned car.
The cause of the wildfires is under investigation. There are questions about why sirens weren’t activated.
AP news said the wildfire destroyed nearly every building in Lahaina, a town of 13,000 people. The fires traveled as fast as a mile a minute. It was so hot that metal melted. The property damage is estimated to be $5.6 billion.
Trump may be indicted in Georgia
Former President Donald Trump may face criminal charges for a fourth time this year — this time in Georgia.
The Fulton County (Atlanta area) District Attorney Fani Willis has been investigating Trump and his team’s alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the state.
ABC News reported that Willis is likely to present her case to a grand jury this week for them to consider indictments.
Trump may be charged with soliciting election fraud, other forms of fraud, conspiracy, and possibly racketeering. Willis started her investigation after Trump’s phone call to Georgia Sec. Of State Brad Raffensperger was revealed. Trump pleaded with Raffensperger to “find 11,780 votes,” which is what he needed to defeat Biden in Georgia. Trump tried to pressure Georgia officials to find fraudulent ballots while making claims of election fraud, but there is no evidence of voter fraud.
There is a lot of anticipation in Atlanta on what Willis will announce in the near future.
Mob steals $100k from Nordstrom in Los Angeles
The Los Angeles Police Department said on Saturday, a “mob of criminals” stole an estimated $60,000 to $100,000 worth of items from the Nordstrom store at the Topanga Mall.
A video shows at least 20 masked people grabbing various luxury items and rushing to escape the store. Some of the items were secured with metal cables to tables but the robbers just pulled the items out of the store. They fled the scene in several vehicles.
The LAPD said “to criminals, it is just property taken. To those who live in the area… it is a loss of feeling safe.” Police said a security guard was sprayed with Mace pepper spray or bear spray.
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Plane crashes at air show in Michigan
On Sunday during an air show near Detroit, Michigan, a small jet crashed after the pilot and another occupant ejected. The two people in the plane will be okay after parachuting into a lake. The plane crashed into the parking lot of an apartment building, striking vehicles that fortunately had nobody in them. Nobody on the ground was injured. It is not clear what caused the plane to crash.
The air show, called “Thunder Over Michigan,” which was on its 25th anniversary, was stopped because of the crash.
Judge sides with young activists in climate change trial
ABC News said a Montana judge sided with young environmental activists who said state agencies were violating their constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment by permitting fossil fuel development without considering its effect on the climate.
ABC News said it is the first-of-its-kind trial in the U.S. The judge said the policy that Montana uses in evaluating requests for fossil fuel permits — which does not allow agencies to evaluate the effects of greenhouse gas emissions — is unconstitutional. The judge said “Montana’s emissions and climate change have been proven to be a substantial factor in causing climate impacts to Montana’s environment and harm and injury” to youth.
ABC News said it’s up to Montana’s legislature to determine how to bring the policy into compliance.
13-year-old survives 100-foot fall at Grand Canyon
A 13-year-old boy from North Dakota fell almost 100 feet at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon during a family trip last week. Fortunately, the boy survived.
His name is Wyatt Kauffman. He told local news that he was “up on the ledge and was moving out of the way so other people could take a picture.” He squatted down and lost his balance and fell backward.
It took emergency crews almost two hours to rescue him. Crews had to rappel down a cliff and bring Wyatt out in a basket. He was airlifted to a hospital. He had nine broken vertebrae, a ruptured spleen, a collapsed lung, a concussion, a broken hand, and a dislocated finger.
Wyatt’s parents said they are lucky that they are bringing him home in a car in the front seat instead of in a box.
That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/live-updates/maui-hawaii-fires/
https://abcnews.go.com/US/georgia-2020-election-investigation/story
https://twitter.com/LAPDPIO/status/1690588157375664128
https://abc7.com/topanga-nordstrom-robbery-smash-and-grab-southern-california-la-video/13640093/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/thunder-over-michigan-air-show-plane-crash-parachute-belleville-lake/
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/judge-sides-young-activists-kind-climate-change-trial-102257984
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/teen-survives-nearly-100-foot-fall-grand-canyon-rcna99792