Extra, Extra
No Water, No Warning: “Officials on the Hawaiian island have repeatedly warned that the death toll will continue to rise as they work to contain the blazes and assess the damage.” Governor launches ‘comprehensive review’ as death toll rises. As the death toll rises, so do questions about how little warning residents had, and how few tools they had to fight the fire. Maui is famous for its sirens. Why didn’t they go off? And from the NYT (Gift Article): As Inferno Grew, Lahaina’s Water System Collapsed. “The hydrants sputtered and became largely useless. ‘There was just no water in the hydrants,’ said Keahi Ho, one of the firefighters who was on duty in Lahaina.”
+ Press Box: “In an unprecedented raid Friday, local law enforcement seized computers, cellphones and reporting materials from the Marion County Record office, the newspaper’s reporters, and the publisher’s home.” Police stage ‘chilling’ raid on Marion County newspaper, seizing computers, records and cellphones. And from AP: “A small central Kansas police department is facing a torrent of criticism for raiding a local newspaper’s office and the home of its owner and publisher, seizing computers and cellphones, and, in the publisher’s view, stressing his 98-year-old mother enough to cause her weekend death.” This story is already a terrible look for the police. It could get much worse. “What has remained unreported until now is that, prior to the raids, the newspaper had been actively investigating Gideon Cody, Chief of Police for the city of Marion. They’d received multiple tips alleging he’d retired from his previous job to avoid demotion and punishment over alleged sexual misconduct charges.” A conversation with the newspaper owner raided by cops. Definitely worth a read.
+ This is the Trend, My Friend: “Milei, an admirer of former U.S. President Donald Trump, says Argentina’s Central Bank should be abolished, thinks climate change is a lie, characterizes sex education as a ploy to destroy the family, believes the sale of human organs should be legal and wants to make it easier to own handguns.” Argentine peso plunges after shaggy-haired rightist who admires Trump comes first in primary vote. This is a global trend.
+ Once Was Blind… “Retired NFL star Michael Oher, whose supposed adoption out of grinding poverty by a wealthy, white family was immortalized in the 2009 movie “The Blind Side,” petitioned a Tennessee court Monday with allegations that a central element of the story was a lie concocted by the family to enrich itself at his expense.”
+ Tamper Tantrum: “In phone calls, speeches, tweets and media appearances, Trump and his allies pushed to overturn the 2020 election results in six swing states where certified results declared Joe Biden the winner … Nowhere was the effort more acute than in Georgia, where all of their strategies came together in a complex and multilayered effort that unfolded against the hyperpartisan backdrop of two ongoing U.S. Senate races.” Trump is likely facing his next big indictment this week. Here’s some background. How Donald Trump tried to undo his loss in Georgia in 2020. The charges could include racketeering. Meanwhile, the indictment hasn’t yet come, but Trump is already witness tampering. (Premature Retaliation.)
+ Tamp Down: And yes, it turns out witness tampering is frowned upon in legal circles. “U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan ruled on Friday that Bankman-Fried, the founder of bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX, must be jailed for tampering with witnesses while free on $250 million bond at his parents’ home in Palo Alto, California.”
+ The Godfather: “Clarence Avant, whose unofficial title of the ‘Black Godfather’ spanned the worlds of music, sports, entertainment and politics, died Sunday at his home in Los Angeles … he was 92.” For an amazing look at his life, check out the Netflix doc, The Black Godfather. Sadly, Avant’s final years were hit with tragedy when his wife was killed during a burglary attempt in 2021.
+ Grain of Wisdom: “This isn’t your typical cooking lesson on Zoom and Facebook. It’s part of a ‘food prescription’ experiment—prescriptions for healthy food instead of pills. Diabetics get a free box full of fruits, vegetables, chicken breast, quinoa and other nutritious food delivered to their homes every two weeks—and then can learn some recipes.” San Francisco Among California Cities Paying for Fresh Food Prescriptions.
