The most recent challenges threaten student loan forgiveness for 800,000 borrowers and changes to the borrower defense student debt relief program that would make it easier for those defrauded by their colleges to receive forgiveness.

Borrowers are having to navigate what the legal developments mean for their loans while also losing faith in receiving more help from the administration before they have to begin repaying their debts in October. 

“I believe even though the specificities of the various lawsuits that are being challenged [...] I think the question that is on a lot of people's minds, specifically the 40 million borrowers, even if it doesn't directly affect them, is when does the line end? When do the challenges end?” said Dorien Rogers, president of the Maryland Youth & College Division for the NAACP.

The two most recent challenges directly impact borrowers who were defrauded by their institutions and those who have been paying on their loans for more than 20 years. 

In the first case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit put a temporary injunction on updated rules the Education Department tried to apply that would change how loans are discharged for people who have been defrauded by their schools or their schools closed down. 

Those who have been defrauded by their institutions are able to apply to get their loans forgiven through the borrower defense program. 

The Career Colleges and Schools of Texas, which represents dozens of for-profit schools, sued the federal government over the updated guidance that would ease who could apply for debt relief through borrower defense and expand the violations applicable to borrower defense. 

The injunction will last at least until Nov. 6, when the next court date is set for the case. 

“We are reviewing the court’s order. The Department issued a set of new and stronger regulations to ensure that borrowers have a path to relief when their colleges take advantage of them or leave them stranded by closures,” an Education Department spokesperson said.

“And the Department won’t back down in our efforts to take on predatory colleges, provide relief to borrowers who have been cheated or had their school close, and hold institutions accountable for deceptive schemes,” the spokesperson added. 

A second lawsuit was recently filed against the Biden administration for its plan to cancel $39 billion in student loans for 800,000 borrowers. The suit was filed by the New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA) on behalf of the Cato Institute and Mackinac Center, in federal court. 

The Education Department said the debt would be canceled for the borrowers who have been paying on their loans for 20 years or more under an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan that allows debt to be canceled after a certain number of payments. 

The administration is adjusting how it calculates which payments count in the plan towards student loan relief, with the updated rules allowing more than 800,000 borrowers to get enough credit from past payments to receive loan forgiveness.

“The [Public Service Loan Forgiveness] and IDR statutes require borrowers to make a certain number of monthly payments before earning forgiveness. By trying to count non-payments as payments, the strategy seems to be to cancel $39 billion faster than a court can review and stop this blatantly unlawful act,” said Sheng Li, litigation counsel for the NCLA. 

The Education Department, again, pledged to fight the lawsuit and insisted its plan is legal.

“The Biden-Harris Administration is fighting every day to fix the broken student loan system and make sure borrowers get the relief they earned, need, and deserve. This lawsuit is nothing but a desperate attempt from right wing special interests to keep hundreds of thousands of borrowers in debt, even though these borrowers have earned the forgiveness that is promised through income-driven repayment plans,” an Education Department spokesperson said. “We are not going to back down or give an inch when it comes to defending working families.”

Borrowers are watching the news trying to parse out what will apply to them and how this will affect their payments, leaving many confused.

“You don't know what part of the plan is sued or at risk. And borrowers are … there's already a major trust problem when it comes to borrowers and their student loans. Any added fuel to the fire is going to make it that much worse,” said Natalia Abrams, president and founder of the Student Debt Crisis Center.

Borrowers already saw relief snatched away from them in June when the Supreme Court ruled against Biden’s plan for all 45 million borrowers to receive up to $10,000 in loan forgiveness, and up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients. 

While Biden said after the high court ruling he is working on a new plan, there are no details set for it. And challenges to the next policy could not come until it is finalized and made it through the months-long negotiated rule-making process.

Biden's new IDR program called the Saving on a Valuable Education plan is one of his few student loan policies that has yet to face a legal challenge. The plan, which was recently launched by the administration, went through the negotiated rule-making process and makes substantial IDR changes such as allowing an individual borrower making $32,800 a year or less to have $0 monthly payments on their student loans. 

The number of lawsuits borrowers are having to track regarding student loan policies has increased dramatically since previous years, according to Abrams.

“I've been working in this space for a long time, and I never really seen regulations be sued at this level,” Abrams said. 

The additional lawsuits come as interest on student loans will turn back on at the beginning of September, with and payments on loans restarting in October. 

Due to Biden’s “on-ramp” program, borrowers will be able to miss payments up until September 2024 without financial repercussions — besides the accruing interest on their loans. 

“When it pertains to the confidence of the Biden-Harris administration, I think, truthfully, a lot of borrowers were hurt because they feel as though there was a lot of tokenized or false promises given kind of the landscape of the legislative but then also the executive and judicial actions of our institutions of government,” Rogers said.

“But I believe also there's still faith in the people seeking an education but are burdened with this debt, that whether it's going to be the president, whether it's going to be their congressional figures or their state legislatures that they're going to do the right thing,” he added.

Retired mailman and Vietnam veteran Thomas Leonard heard a boom as a propane tank at a nearby home exploded, leaving a cloud that looked like “a gigantic mushroom” in its wake.

Thirty-seven year old Mike Cicchino, who grew up on Maui, said he could tell how close the flames were based on how far away cars sounded as their gas tanks erupted. He and his family sought refuge in the ocean across a knee-high sea wall and as he helped others onto the rocks, his rib cage ached, his eyes were nearly swollen shut and he vomited.

“It was like a war,” Cicchino said.

About 46,000 residents and visitors have flown out of West Maui since the devastation became clear last week, according to the Hawaii Tourism Authority. Officials are now mourning the deaths of more than 90 people and preparing the island, particularly Lahaina, for a long recovery.

In addition to lives lost, property damaged and a culture forever transformed, authorities are worried about returning to some parts of the island where toxic byproducts of the fire likely remain.

Residents of some parts of the island have begun returning home, finding melted cars, flattened homes and burnt elevator shafts rising from ashy lots where apartment buildings once stood. But even in places where the destruction has begun to subside, officials are warning residents that it remains too dangerous to return and Federal Emergency Management Agency officials are surveying the area for additional hazards.

“It is not safe. It is a hazardous area and that’s why experts are here,” Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen said in a news conference Saturday. “We’re not doing anybody any favors by letting them back in there quickly, just so they can get sick.”

Hawaii’s state toxicologist Diana Felton told Hawaii Public Radio that it could take weeks or months to clean up the pollutants.

Officials like Bissen and Felton have taken their cue from scientists who warn that fires — even once extinguished in a particular neighborhood or area — can leave lasting health hazards, including in the air and drinking water.

Such lasting effects could prolong recovery, compound residents’ agony and complicate the return of the island’s tourism-driven economy.

Maui water officials warned Lahaina and Kula residents not to drink running water, which may be contaminated even after boiling, and to only take short, lukewarm showers in well-ventilated rooms to avoid possible chemical vapor exposure.

Though others have returned, some residents, like JP Mayoga, are electing to stay away. Mayoga said on Sunday that he, his wife and two daughters planned to stay at the hotel where he works north of Lahaina because they worry toxic debris now covering Lahaina might negatively impact members of the family with sensitive health.

“It’s safer than it is at home right now,” he said of the hotel.

Unlike factory pollution or forest fires where scientists have a strong grasp about the kind of toxins emitted, fires like the one in Maui can leave a less unpredictable trail of destruction in their wake. As towns like Lahaina burn, propane tanks explode, pipes melt and oil spills.

“When you burn people’s belongings, vehicles and boats, we don’t necessarily have a good understanding of what those chemicals are,” said Professor Andrew Whelton, the director of Purdue University's Center for Plumbing Safety. “When much of that infrastructure burns, it’s transformed into other materials that are never meant for human contact.”

Whelton said airborne pollutants from smoke often fall to the ground and can require removal by emergency response teams to ensure they aren't kicked up and inhaled as people return to the burn areas. Melted pipes can compromise the water supply, a concern reflected in the unsafe water alert issued Friday for upper Kula and Lahaina.

Though these concerns may be less apparent than charred trees and homes, the invisible hazards can often extend beyond burned areas to wherever smoke plumes have traveled.

“If you go back into some zones even where maybe all the fires have been put out, you can then be really exposed. If there’s dust and debris kicked up, you can get it in your eyes, on your hands or you can inhale it,” Whelton added, imploring people to wear protective gear, cover their arms and legs and follow evacuation orders.

In a video update released earlier on Sunday, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said more than 2,700 structures were destroyed in Lahaina and “an estimated value of $5.6 billion has gone away.”

Green said the response has been “comprehensive” in the past several days: “We are bringing the full force of government to try to do all we can to alleviate suffering.”

FEMA is overseeing the federal response in Hawaii with 416 personnel including FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell.

“We’ve had a lot of time to discuss how we will ultimately rebuild Lahaina and support Maui,” Green said.

Green said President Joe Biden has “authorized the full force of the federal government in support of us.”

A federal urban search and rescue team will be accompanied by 20 dogs that can locate the places where people have perished.

“I will tell you this, as a physician, it is a harrowing sight in Maui,” Green said. “When those providers, the police and this division, do come across scenes in houses or businesses it is very difficult for them because they know, ultimately, they will be sharing with our people that there have been more fatalities. I do expect the numbers to rise.”

The following fire updates were also provided:

• The Upcountry/Kula from Aug. 8 is now 60% contained
• The Lahaina fire from Aug. 8 is now 85% contained
• The Pulehu/Kihei fire from Aug. 8 remains 100% contained
• The Pu’ukoli’i/ Kaanapali fire from Aug. 11 was extinguished Aug. 12

A fire that is 100% contained is not the same as a fire that is extinguished. To be 100% contained means firefighters have the fire fully surrounded by a perimeter, whereas a fire that is extinguished is over.

Maui County also reported on Aug. 13, that the Upcountry/Kula wildifire has claimed 19 homes. Three homes were destroyed in Olinda and 16 were leveled in Kula.

Gov. Green issued the fifth Emergency Proclamation Sunday night. The newest proclamation suspends additional laws to facilitate emergency response, recovery and rebuilding.

The proclamation will also allow pharmacists to refill prescriptions with up to a 30-day supply for those directly affected by the wildfire.

The $10 million cap on expenditures from the Major Disaster Fund will also be lifted.

Lastly, it discourages nonessential travel to West Maui to free up accommodations for displaced residents and emergency workers.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

But a chronic housing shortage and an influx of second-home buyers and wealthy transplants have been displacing residents like Palalay who give Lahaina its spirit and identity.

A fast-moving wildfire that incinerated much of the compact coastal settlement last week has multiplied concerns that any homes rebuilt there will be targeted at affluent outsiders seeking a tropical haven. That would turbo-charge what is already one of Hawaii’s gravest and biggest challenges: the exodus and displacement of Native Hawaiian and local-born residents who can no longer afford to live in their homeland.

“I’m more concerned of big land developers coming in and seeing this charred land as an opportunity to rebuild,” Palalay said Saturday at a shelter for evacuees.

Hotels and condos “that we can’t afford, that we can’t afford to live in — that’s what we’re afraid of,” he said.

Palalay, 25, was born and raised in Lahaina. He started working at an oceanfront seafood restaurant in town when he was 16 and worked his way up to be kitchen supervisor. He was training to be a sous chef.

Then came Tuesday’s wildfire, which lay waste to its wooden homes and historic streets in just a few hours, killing at least 93 people to become the deadliest wildfire in the U.S. in a century.

Maui County estimates more than 80% of the more than 2,700 structures in the town were damaged or destroyed and 4,500 residents are newly in need of shelter.

The blaze torched Palalay’s restaurant, his neighborhood, his friends’ homes and possibly even the four-bedroom house where he pays $1,000 monthly to rent one room. He and his housemates haven’t had an opportunity to return to examine it themselves, though they’ve seen images showing their neighborhood in ruins.

He said the town, which was once the capital of the former Hawaiian kingdom in the 1800s, made him the man he is today.

“Lahaina is my home. Lahaina is my pride. My life. My joy,” he said in a text message, adding that the town has taught him “lessons of love, struggle, discrimination, passion, division and unity you could not fathom.”

The median price of a Maui home is $1.2 million, putting a single-family home out of reach for the typical wage earner. It’s not possible for many to even buy a condo, with the median condo price at $850,000.

Sterling Higa, the executive director of Housing Hawaii’s Future, a nonprofit organization that advocates for more housing in Hawaii, said the town is host to many houses that have been in the hands of local families for generations. But it’s also been subject to gentrification.

“So a lot of more recent arrivals — typically from the American mainland who have more money and can buy homes at a higher price — were to some extent displacing local families in Lahaina,” Higa said. It’s a phenomenon he has seen all along Maui’s west coast where a modest starter home two decades ago now sells for $1 million.

Residents with insurance or government aid may get funds to rebuild, but those payouts could take years and recipients may find it won’t be enough to pay rent or buy an alternate property in the interim.

Many on Kauai spent years fighting for insurance payments after Hurricane Iniki slammed into the island in 1992 and said the same could happen in Lahaina, Higa said.

“As they deal with this — the frustration of fighting insurance companies or fighting (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) — many of them may well leave because there are no other options,” Higa said.

Palalay vows to stay.

“I don’t have any money to help rebuild. I’ll put on a construction hat and help get this ship going. I’m not going to leave this place,” he said. “Where am I going to go?”

Gov. Josh Green, during a visit to Lahaina with FEMA, told journalists that he won’t let Lahaina get too expensive for locals after rebuilding. He said he is thinking about ways for the state to acquire land to use for workforce housing or open space as a memorial for those lost.

“We want Lahaina to be a part of Hawaii forever," Green said. "We don’t want it to be another example of people being priced out of paradise.”

As reflected in Greta Gerwig's blockbuster movie that tackles the legacy Mattel's famous doll, Barbie has always been more popular than Ken. For every Ken doll sold today, there’s generally eight to 10 Barbies sold, according to Jim Silver, a toy industry expert and CEO of review site of TTPM.

It's unclear if Warner Bros' “Barbie,” which was also co-produced by Mattel, will increase Ken production and sales. But Silver noted that the movie “gave Ken more attention than Ken has received" in decades.

Ken was first introduced back in 1961, two years after Barbie hit store shelves. But he hasn't had nearly the same impact on the Barbieverse since.

“Barbie’s world is about Barbie. And (to some), Ken may be an accessory of sorts," said Ed Timke, an assistant professor of advertising and public relations at Michigan State University, pointing to years of marketing that has, naturally, put Barbie at center stage.

The new attention around Ken following “Barbie’s” release has also received pushback. Many note that the movie is about Barbie — not Ken — and that's where the spotlight should stay.

Still, the dynamic between the film’s Barbie and Ken may get people to reflect some big questions about gender as well as Ken's own evolution over the years.

Who is Ken as a toy and how has he changed?

Ken's relationship to Barbie has been up for debate since the two hit the toy aisle together. While Mattel long-advertised Ken as Barbie's boyfriend — and even detailed their 2004 split and subsequent reconciliation seven years later — many also saw Ken as Barbie's best friend, and sometimes queer icon. One 1993 version of Ken in particular, Earring Magic Ken, became notably popular among LGBTQ consumers, the New York Historical Society notes. At the time, Mattel denied the Earring Magic Ken was queer and later pulled him from shelves.

Other popular versions of Ken ranged from the tuxedo-wearing 1984 Dream Date Ken, to 1978 Superstar Ken and 1979 Sun Malibu Ken, which became one of the doll's most iconic looks (as reflected in Ryan Gosling's character). While Ken has gone through far fewer career changes than Barbie, his resume boasts job titles like astronaut, barista, country western singer and doctor.

“A wonderful thing is that through play, children are free to have their dolls take on any type of role that they wish,” said Ann Herzog, a clinical instructor of child life and family-centered care at Boston University.

She also underlined the importance of diversity in toy collections and providing “open-ended play opportunities and not to endorse stereotypes that the Barbie collection and dolls in general are only specific to a particular gender.”

While children of all genders, including young boys, have played with Barbie and Ken over the years, Timke notes that “there’s definitely the gendering of marketing toward girls” for both figures, pointing to contrasts in advertising for products historically seen as “boy toys,” such as G.I. Joe. That legacy, as well as other socialization, still impacts who plays with certain toys today.

Still, Ken — like Barbie — has evolved over time and become more diverse, particularly after Mattel rolled out more skin tones, body types, hairstyles and more for Ken dolls in 2017. Some Kens also have prosthetic legs, wheelchairs and hearing aids. Increases in diverse representation — with similar changes seen since 2016 for Barbie — has boosted the dolls' popularity and comeback sales, Silver said.

Will Barbie (and Ken) sales increase following the movie’s release?

Mattel did not respond to The Associated Press' requests for data or comment on specific Ken and Barbie sales seen before and after “Barbie's” July 21 release. But according to market research firm Circana, Barbie sales overall for the U.S. toy industry increased 40% in the last two weeks of July compared with the same period in 2022.

Circana doesn't break out Ken from Barbie sales. Still, “I suspect that, with the movie, sales of Ken dolls will experience a strong lift in sales," Juli Lennett, VP, U.S. toys industry advisor at Circana, wrote in an email to The Associated Press. Additional experts also expected a spike in interest, but weren't sure about the long run.

Lennett did note that the top-selling “Barbie” movie item for those last two weeks of July was the Barbie Gingham Dress followed by the Ken Doll Set. Between those two items, Barbie outsold Ken nearly two to one, she said.

For the second quarter of 2023, which ended weeks before the movie’s release, worldwide sales of Barbie to retailers excluding adjustments actually fell 6%. Mattel executives told analysts that sales had improved in July, and it expects the movie will have a halo effect on the brand for years to come.

There was a carryover of inventory across the toy industry for the first half of the year, Silver explains, noting that record sales in the first years of the pandemic led to over-buying at the end of 2022. He predicts a rebound in Barbie sales heading into the holiday season, when toy spending is high and after “Barbie” eventually makes its way to streaming.

And of course, sales following “Barbie’s” release won’t be limited to the toy aisle. Other branded products are also gaining popularity from the film, including Ken-focused swag like “I am Kenough” sweatshirts and other “Ken-ergy” apparel, are currently for sale by Mattel, as well as from third-party sellers on sites like Amazon and Walmart.

The Marion County Record said in its own published reports that police raided the newspaper’s office on Friday, seizing the newspaper’s computers, phones and file server and the personal cellphones of staff, based on a search warrant. One Record reporter said one of her fingers was injured when Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody wrested her cellphone out of her hand, according to the report.

Police simultaneously raided the home of Eric Meyer, the newspaper’s publisher and co-owner, seizing computers, his cellphone and the home’s internet router, Meyer said. Meyer's 98-year-old mother — Record co-owner Joan Meyer who lived in the home with her son — collapsed and died Saturday, Meyer said, blaming her death on the stress of the raid of her home.

Meyer said in his newspaper's report that he believes the raid was prompted by a story published last week about a local restaurant owner, Kari Newell. Newell had police remove Meyer and a newspaper reporter from her restaurant early this month, who were there to cover a public reception for U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner, a Republican representing the area. The police chief and other officials also attended and were acknowledged at the reception, and the Marion Police Department highlighted the event on its Facebook page.

The next week at a city council meeting, Newell publicly accused the newspaper of using illegal means to get information on a drunken driving conviction against her. The newspaper countered that it received that information unsolicited, which it sought to verify through public online records. It eventually decided not to run a story on Newell's DUI, but it did run a story on the city council meeting, in which Newell confirmed the 2008 DUI conviction herself.

A two-page search warrant, signed by a local judge, lists Newell as the victim of alleged crimes by the newspaper. When the newspaper asked for a copy of the probable cause affidavit required by law to issue a search warrant, the district court issued a signed statement saying no such affidavit was on file, the Record reported.

Newell declined to comment Sunday, saying she was too busy to speak. She said she would call back later Sunday to answer questions.

Cody, the police chief, defended the raid on Sunday, saying in an email to The Associated Press that while federal law usually requires a subpoena — not just a search warrant — to raid a newsroom, there is an exception “when there is reason to believe the journalist is taking part in the underlying wrongdoing.”

Cody did not give details about what that alleged wrongdoing entailed.

Cody, who was hired in late April as Marion's police chief after serving 24 years in the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department, did not respond to questions about whether police filed a probable cause affidavit for the search warrant. He also did not answer questions about how police believe Newell was victimized.

Meyer said the newspaper plans to sue the police department and possibly others, calling the raid an unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment’s free press guarantee.

Press freedom and civil rights organizations agreed that police, the local prosecutor's office and the judge who signed off on the search warrant overstepped their authority.

“It seems like one of the most aggressive police raids of a news organization or entity in quite some time,” said Sharon Brett, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas. The breadth of the raid and the aggressiveness in which it was carried out seems to be “quite an alarming abuse of authority from the local police department,” Brett said.

Seth Stern, director of advocacy for Freedom of the Press Foundation, said in a statement that the raid appeared to have violated federal law, the First Amendment, “and basic human decency.”

“This looks like the latest example of American law enforcement officers treating the press in a manner previously associated with authoritarian regimes," Stern said. “The anti-press rhetoric that’s become so pervasive in this country has become more than just talk and is creating a dangerous environment for journalists trying to do their jobs.”

Crews with cadaver dogs have covered just 3% of the search area, Maui Police Chief John Pelletier said Saturday.

“We’ve got an area that we have to contain that is at least 5 square miles, and it is full of our loved ones,” he said, noting that the number of dead is likely to grow and “none of us really know the size of it yet.”

He spoke as federal emergency workers picked through the ashen moonscape left by the fire that razed the centuries-old town of Lahaina. Teams marked the ruins of homes with a bright orange “X” to indicate an initial search, and “HR” when they found human remains.

Pelletier said identifying the dead is challenging because “we pick up the remains and they fall apart." The remains have been through "a fire that melted metal." Only two people have been identified so far, he said.

During the search efforts, the barks of cadaver dogs alerting their handlers to potential remains echoed over the hot, colorless landscape.

“It will certainly be the worst natural disaster that Hawaii ever faced,” Gov. Josh Green said as he toured the devastation on historic Front Street. "We can only wait and support those who are living. Our focus now is to reunite people when we can and get them housing and get them health care, and then turn to rebuilding.”

At least 2,200 buildings were damaged or destroyed in West Maui, Green said, nearly all of them residential. Across the island, damage was estimated at close to $6 billion.

At least two other fires have been burning on Maui: in south Maui’s Kihei area and in the mountainous, inland communities known as Upcountry. No fatalities have been reported from those blazes.

The Upcountry fire affected 544 structures, most of them homes, Green said.

As many as 4,500 people are in need of shelter, county officials said on Facebook, citing figures from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Pacific Disaster Center.

Pelletier encouraged people with missing family members to go to a family assistance center to take a DNA test.

"We need to identify your loved ones,” Pelletier said.

Those who escaped were thankful to be alive as they mourned those who didn't make it.

Retired fire captain Geoff Bogar and his friend of 35 years, Franklin Trejos, initially stayed behind to help others in Lahaina and save Bogar's house. But as the flames moved closer and closer Tuesday afternoon, they knew they had to flee.

Each escaped to his own car. When Bogar's vehicle wouldn't start, he broke through a window to get out, then crawled on the ground until a police patrol found him and brought him to a hospital.

Trejos wasn't as lucky. When Bogar returned the next day, he found the bones of his 68-year-old friend in the back seat of his car, lying on top of the remains of the Bogars' beloved 3-year-old golden retriever Sam, whom he had tried to protect.

Trejos, a native of Costa Rica, had lived for years with Bogar and his wife, Shannon Weber-Bogar, helping her with her seizures when her husband couldn't. He filled their lives with love and laughter.

“God took a really good man,” Weber-Bogar said.

The latest death toll surpassed that of the 2018 Camp Fire in northern California, which left 85 dead and destroyed the town of Paradise. A century earlier, the 1918 Cloquet Fire broke out in drought-stricken northern Minnesota and raced through rural communities, destroying thousands of homes and killing hundreds.

The wildfires are Hawaii's deadliest natural disaster in decades, surpassing a 1960 tsunami that killed 61 people. An even deadlier tsunami in 1946, which killed more than 150 on the Big Island, prompted development of a territory-wide emergency alert system with sirens that are tested monthly.

Hawaii emergency management records do not indicate that the warning sirens sounded before fire hit the town. Officials sent alerts to mobile phones, televisions and radio stations, but widespread power and cellular outages may have limited their reach.

Fueled by a dry summer and strong winds from a passing hurricane, the wildfires on Maui raced through parched brush covering the island.

“It outpaced anything firefighters could have done in the early hours,” U.S. Fire Administrator Lori Moore-Merrell said.

The most serious blaze swept into Lahaina on Tuesday and destroyed nearly every building in the town of 13,000, leaving a grid of gray rubble wedged between the blue ocean and lush green slopes.

Maui water officials warned Lahaina and Kula residents not to drink running water, which may be contaminated even after boiling, and to only take short, lukewarm showers in well-ventilated rooms to avoid possible chemical vapor exposure.

Maui’s firefighting efforts may have been hampered by limited staff and equipment.

Bobby Lee, president of the Hawaii Firefighters Association, said there are no more than 65 county firefighters working at any given time, who are responsible for three islands: Maui, Molokai and Lanai.

Lahaina resident Riley Curran said he doubted that county officials could have done more, given the speed of the flames. He fled his Front Street home after seeing the oncoming fire from the roof of a neighboring building.

“It’s not that people didn’t try to do anything," Curran said. “The fire went from zero to 100.”

More than a dozen people formed an assembly line on Kaanapali Beach Saturday to unload water, toiletries, batteries and other essentials from a catamaran that sailed from another part of Maui.

David Taylor, marketing director of Kai Kanani Sailing, which owns the boat, said many of the supplies were for hotel employees who lost their homes and were living with their families at their workplaces.

“The aloha still exists,” he said as the group applauded when they finished unloading the boat. “We all feel it really intensely and everybody wants to feel like they can do something.”

Caitlin McKnight, who also volunteered at an emergency shelter at the island's war memorial, said she tried to be strong for those who lost everything.

“It was evident that those people, those families, people of the Maui ohana, they went through a traumatic event,” McKnight said, using a Hawaiian word for family. “You could just see it in their face.”

Nexstar's WPIX asked New Yorkers what they think is something everyone should try when visiting the Big Apple, and many of the responses were at low cost – some even free.

 
The NYC subway  

“Even though the subway is a little dangerous, it's still fascinating,” wrote Diane Samaroo.  

The subway is how the average New Yorker gets from point A to point B. New York was not the first city to create a train network in the United States, but construction was fast, and soon the subway became the country’s largest public transit system. It has been operating since 1904.  

Fast forward to 2023, the subway has 27 lines, more than 400 stations, and millions of riders per day. It operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Other social media users had more tongue-in-cheek responses, including everyone must experience the rats or “stink of the subway.”  

Quetzalitzli Cacalotl said everyone should enjoy “An empty subway car just for YOU! ENJOY!” (Do not go to an empty subway car; there’s usually a reason it’s empty.)   

Love it or hate it, the subway keeps New York City going.  

Summer 

There is just so much to do: block parties, a walk around the reservoir at Central Park, outdoor movies, and the massive Fourth of July fireworks spectacular that lights up the New York City skyline. (All free of charge.) 

“It's better than having to put mad clothes on during the winter. I prefer summer all year,” Serrano Luis said.

Not only are there multiple free activities, but there is also no shortage of day trips you can take without a car, as well as multiple beaches to choose from.  

There are also experiences unique to New York City, including Manhattanhenge, when the sunset aligns with the street grid that runs east to west. Manhattanhenge only takes place twice a year and won't happen again until spring 2024. 

Two more unique summer experiences in New York City are the National Puerto Rican Day Parade and the Coney Island Mermaid Parade. Both are free.  

Shakespeare in the Park is another free event held every summer. Getting tickets is quite competitive as there is a lottery system. Anne Hathaway, Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Denzel Washington are some of the Hollywood A-listers who have graced the stage. 
 

Broadway shows

It’s a street with multiple songs written about it. And it’s a place where so many strive to make their dreams come true. 

Many New Yorkers suggested seeing a Broadway show on WPIX’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages. Caryn La Greca, a photographer, recommended “Moulin Rogue.” 

Whether you are a tourist or a bonafide New Yorker, one thing everyone can agree on is a Broadway show is a must-see when in New York City.

For more information and tickets, click here.

Food 

Whether it is fine dining at a Michelin-star restaurant, enjoying street food, or grabbing snacks from a bodega, there are plenty of options to choose from.  

You can sample cuisine from any culture around the world, from Italian food on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx’s Little Italy to Korean BBQ in Manhattan’s Koreatown. Honorable mentions include a pastrami sandwich from Katz’s Deli, a classic New York-style pizza slice, a bagel with cream cheese, and a chopped cheese from the South Bronx.  

One social media user wrote: “a nice thick fluffy greasy pizza.”

But the two clear winners are “eating Chinese food, or getting a baconeggandcheese sandwich,” Di Thomas wrote.

Winter/Christmas

New Yorkers seem to agree on one thing: The city is where you want to be for the holidays.

Everyone should experience “Christmas time, with newly fallen snow,” wrote Dave Fretz. “New York’s magic shines around the holidays.”  

“Christmas time at Rockefeller Center!” wrote Regina Matusiak Frizziola. 

Marcia Spiefel Lerman wrote: “Radio City Music Hall, Decorations in windows, buying chestnuts… and department stores.” 

The fun doesn’t stop in Manhattan. Brooklyn’s Dyker Heights neighborhood goes above and beyond with Christmas displays.  

“What’s not to love about all that razzle-dazzle to get you in the Christmas spirit,” wrote Time Out. “The Brooklyn neighborhood is home to the most over-the-top Christmas light decorations with life-size Santas, sleighs, snowmen, and some houses even bump Christmas carols from loudspeakers.”  

Honorable mentions include Bryant Park’s Christmas Village, ice skating at The Rink at Rockefeller Center and The Sky Rink at Chelsea Piers, and visiting Macy’s to see Santa. 

Last but not least, remember to “just take in the beauty and respect for the history of [the city],” one New Yorker wrote.

Criswell described the aftermath of the Maui wildfires that has left at least 93 people dead as of Sunday morning to CBS reporter Jonathan Vigliotti. The wildfire devastated the historic town of Lahaina last week, leaving hundreds of structures destroyed and many more damaged.

"It's absolutely heartbreaking to just see an entire community that is no longer there," Criswell said. "And I think one of the things that was just really the most shocking, I guess, I would say is the roll of cars of people that were trying to drive and escape and then couldn't get out fast enough."

"And these are the ones that ended up running or jumping into the water and there's cars just there. I mean, it was like a scene from an apocalyptic movie," she added.

Maui County officials announced that the death toll climbed to 93 over the weekend, surpassing the total killed during the 2018 Camp Fire in northern California, which left 85 dead. Criswell said that FEMA is bringing in more teams with more dogs to search the area to find any remaining victims.

"But I think one of the challenging things is many of the areas that they're in searching, there's structures that are partially standing and so the engineers are embedded with them to evaluate the stability of that structure," she said.

When Vigliotti told Criswell that his sources say the the death toll could end up in the hundreds, Criswell said she "wouldn't second guess them."

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said officials are investigating a "go-around" that occurred shortly before noon Friday. The term "go-around" refers to flight procedure in which an arriving aircraft aborts its landing and returns to the landing queue.

Officials say these instances are initiated if a pilot or air traffic controller is not completely satisfied that the requirements for a safe landing are in place.

According to the FAA, preliminary review of the event showed that an air traffic controller instructed the pilot of a Cessna Citation business jet to discontinue landing because a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 was still on the runway awaiting clearance to depart.

In the following statement, the FAA explained the situation further:

"The controller had previously cleared the Citation to land on Runway 27 and then instructed Southwest Flight 2493 to taxi onto that runway and wait for instructions to depart. The facility’s automated surface surveillance system alerted the controller about the developing situation."

The FAA is sending a team of experts to the San Diego facility to investigate. Officials say the team will determine the closest proximity between the airplanes as part of the review.

The FAA held an industry-wide Safety Summit earlier this year on March 15. Since the summit, officials say the transportation agency has taken actions "to ensure operations are conducted at the highest level of safety."

"One close call is one too many," the FAA stated.

At more than 1,700 Target locations across the U.S., individuals will have the opportunity to add a Starbucks purchase to their Target Drive Up order. According to the release, fans of Starbucks will be able to start adding their order to Drive Up by October.

Drive Up is a contactless pick-up service offered by Target, which allows customers to order in the mobile app. When the customer's order is ready, they can let the store know they're on their way and pull into a designated curbside parking spot when they arrive.

The customer can then click "I'm Here" in the Target app, letting the store know they have pulled into the curbside pickup spot.

By early October, Target says customers will be able to add a Starbucks drink or food item to their Drive Up orders.

Both the Drive Up and Starbucks order will be delivered directly to the customer's vehicle.

"Our guests have long told us Drive Up is a game-changer, adding convenience to their daily life, especially when they're short on time," Mark Schindele, Target chief stores officer said. "We've continued listening to our guests, who've told us overwhelmingly that Drive Up with Starbucks would bring even more ease and joy to every Target run. This one-of-a-kind service — available only at Target — is the latest example of how we're innovating every day to meet the needs of our guests."

Target says it's still rolling out the service to stores around the country, and will continue to bring more locations online through October.

As of August, Starbucks Drive Up pickup was available in the following states:

• California (select stores)
• Colorado 
• Delaware (select stores)
• Idaho 
• Illinois
• Indiana 
• Iowa 
• Kansas 
• Kentucky (select stores)
• Michigan 
• Minnesota 
• Missouri (select stores)
• Montana 
• Nebraska 
• New Jersey (select stores)
• North Dakota 
• Ohio 
• Oklahoma 
• Pennsylvania (select stores)
• South Dakota 
• Texas (select stores)
• Utah (select stores)
• Washington (select stores)
• West Virginia (select stores)
• Wisconsin 

Not sure what to order? The most popular Starbucks Drive Up items so far have been the iced brown sugar oat milk shaken espresso, the birthday cake pop and the iced caramel macchiato, Target says.

"I have lived in Florida for almost 50 years, and I have never seen anything like it, nor have I found anything quite like it on the internet," Smith told Nexstar's WFLA.

Back in April, Smith ventured to Myakka River State Park in Sarasota with a woman who was a ranger at the park for 10 years. The ranger also said she had never seen anything like it, according to Smith.

As for what prompted the alligator to launch itself? Smith said the animal seemed to be reacting to a school of fish that got stirred up in the water.

According to Experience Kissimmee, alligators can leap up to five feet out of the water to snag their dinner. They do it by pushing up with their tails.

On April 18, Smith posted the amazing photo on a Myakka River State Park Facebook group. Since then, the snapshot has gotten over 1,000 likes, hundreds of shares, and dozens of comments.

The odor and those irritated eyes are instead due to chlorine mixing with the pee, poop, sweat, dirt, skin cells, makeup and deodorant that swimmers bring into the pool, according to the CDC. In fact, a health pool with chlorinated water doesn't have a strong chemical at all.

In fact, a CDC study that tested public pools found that 58 percent of samples came back positive for E. coli, bacteria found in the human gut and feces.

When combined with pool chemicals, those substances people carry into the pool with them can form chloramines, chemical irritants that can also cause skin irritation, nasal irritation, coughing, asthma attacks and wheezing.

Pool chemicals effectively kill most germs, but some are more persistent. Chlorine also becomes less effective the more it has to neutralize contaminants.

One of those persistent germs is cryptosporidium.

"Cryptosporidium can survive more than 7 days in pool water with 1 ppm free chlorine," a spokesperson from the CDC's Waterborne Disease Prevention Branch told Nexstar. "This is partly why Cryptosporidium is the leading cause of outbreaks linked to pools."

Cryptosporidium generally causes diarrhea, but symptoms can be especially severe for people with weakened immune systems.

The CDC recommends taking the following steps to stay safe at a public pool or hot tub:

• Try to find any inspection records posted online before going
• Use test strips (sold at hardware or pool supply stores) to make sure the pH level is 7.2 - 7.8. The free chlorine concentration should be at least 1 ppm in pools and at least 3 ppm in hot tubs/spas. The bromine concentration should be at least 3 ppm in pools and 4 ppm in hot tubs/spas.
• Can you see the drain at the bottom of the deep end? That's a sign that life guards will be able to see swimmers clearly.
• Make sure the drain covers aren't broken or unsecured.
• Be sure that there is safety equipment, such as a rescue ring or pole, if a lifeguard isn't on duty.

Earlier this year, the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute released its 2023 County Health Rankings and Roadmaps report, which is meant to raise awareness about factors that can impact health outcomes and disparities nationwide.

Researchers use numerous data points to determine the length and quality of life on a state-by-state basis. Among those factors is alcohol use, including reported excessive drinking. 

To determine the rates of excessive drinking per state, researchers used self-reported data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance system. For the 2023 report, the University of Wisconsin used data from 2020 — the first year of the COVID pandemic. 

Excessive drinking encompasses both binge drinking (four or more drinks on one occasion for women, five or more for men) and heavy drinking (eight or more drinks a week for women, fifteen or more for men).

Based on the CDC’s data, the University of Wisconsin found its own state, Wisconsin, is home to the most excessive drinkers. Overall, 26% of adults in the state — which sports an MLB team named in honor of its beer brewing industry — self-reported excessive drinking. 

The five states with the most excessive drinkers were primarily in the north-central U.S. After Wisconsin, the four states with the highest rates were Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, and North Dakota. In total, 19 states had excessive drinking rates equal to or greater than 20%.

As the map below shows, in every state, at least 10% of participating adults reported excessive drinking. Utah had the lowest rate at 12% — less than half the rate of Wisconsin. States along the East Coast had among the lowest rates as well, while those on the opposite side of the country were slightly larger. 

Unsurprisingly, when reviewing county-level data, researchers found nine of the 10 with the highest rate of adults reportedly drinking excessively were in Wisconsin. Topping out the list was Columbia County, which is located just north of Madison, at 29%. Ozaukee County, north of Milwaukee, also reported 29%. Tying for third was Montana’s Sheridan County at 28%, the same rate reported by 18 other Wisconsin counties.

No Wisconsin county reported a rate below 25%. 

As expected, Utah has the county with the lowest level of excessive drinkers: Utah County at 8%. Two more, Cache and Sanpete, tied for the second-lowest rank at 10%. Rounding out the bottom of the list were two Alabama counties, Greene and Perry, and five Mississippi counties: Holmes, Humphreys, Leflore, Quitman, and Tunica. 

The interactive map below shows the rates reported per county. 

The University of Wisconsin also reviewed the number of alcohol-impaired driving deaths per state and county. 

Though it has a relatively low rate of adults drinking excessively (18%), California had the highest number of alcohol-impaired driving deaths at 5,185 between 2016 and 2020, according to data collected from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System. The District of Columbia reported 43 while Vermont reported 109. 

It was Montana, where nearly one in four adults reportedly drink excessively, that had the highest rate of driving deaths involving alcohol at 46%. North Dakota was close behind at 41%, though both states reported less than 500 alcohol-impaired driving deaths: 443 and 221, respectively. 

Three states — Kansas, Mississippi, and Indiana — reported the lowest percentages of driving deaths with alcohol involvement. According to the County Health Rankings, alcohol was involved in 19% of driving deaths in these states.

“When consumed in excess, alcohol is harmful to the health and well-being of those that drink as well as their families, friends, and communities,” researchers noted. 

A study recently published in the Journal of American Medicine found more Americans are dying from alcohol-related deaths, especially women. Between 2018 and 2020, researchers say CDC shows mortality rates among men increased by 12.5%, Nexstar’s WPIX reports. Among women, that rate was almost 15%.

While some say "use by" a specific date, others say "sell by" the posted date. But what is the difference?

According to the University of Connecticut (UConn), food dating is not required by federal law. The only exception to this is infant formula and some baby food. For all other foods, except for dairy products in some states, dating is up to the manufacturer.

Stores are also not legally obligated to remove outdated products from their shelves, UConn reports. This means that consumers should always check the packaging to make sure what they are buying is the freshest.

There are a few terms that consumers should be aware of when it comes to food dating, some of which can be confusing. Here are some common terms you may see while shopping for food.

• Expiration date: Food should be thrown away after this date, as it may no longer be safe to eat.

• Use-by or Best-used-by date: This is a suggestion on when the food should be used to ensure the best quality. It generally is safe to consume food that is past this date, but the quality may suffer. These phrases are mostly found on canned goods, dry goods and other shelf-stable items. According to UConn, the FDA is supporting the food industry's effort to standardize its use.

• Sell-by date: According to the USDA, this date indicates when the item should stop being displayed for sale. Items with this phrase are generally safe for consumption after this date, but the food may lose flavor and eye appeal.

UConn offers some tips for certain foods that can be consumed after their posted date, such as milk or eggs, on its website. But consumers should always judge by a product's odor, texture or appearance before consuming any foods suspected to be expired, the USDA advises.

In other words, if you feel like it's going bad, don't take the risk — and don't eat it.

How resuming payments will affect a single borrower varies widely, depending on, among other things, whether they stopped making payments at all, how much debt they have, the repayment program they’re in, and their current and future expected income. It also depends on the other expenses competing for a piece of their monthly budget. Because so many people are affected — 43.6 million people hold federal student loan debt, according to the Department of Education — the impact to the economy stands to be broad even if some borrowers don’t have a difficult time adjusting.

Currently, there is $1.6 trillion in federal student loan debt outstanding, according to data from the New York Fed’s first quarter Household Debt and Credit Report. This will come down by at least an estimated $39 billion (about 2.4%) before repayment begins, as long-time debtholders who have been paying for 20 years or more stand to have their slates cleared in a one-time adjustment recently announced by the Biden administration.

The White House is also implementing a repayment plan that could significantly reduce the monthly payments due for some borrowers, and a 12-month “on ramp,” where debtholders who enter repayment in coming weeks will not face repercussions for paying late. These two efforts alone could soften and slow the economic effects of those reentering repayment.

There’s little doubt that potentially hundreds of billions of dollars in consumer debt coming due will impact the economy — it represents debt held by roughly 17% of American adults and is the second-largest source of household debt, according to the NY Fed report. But the gravity of this impact is yet to be determined and likely to play out over the next several months and years. Here are four potential economic outcomes I’ll be watching for in the coming months:

1. Student loan delinquencies will rise

In the first quarter of 2020, nearly 11% of student loan balances were 90 or more days past due, according to the Household Debt and Credit Report from the New York Fed. The payment pause cleared this slate, and delinquency stands at less than 1% as of the first quarter of 2023. That will change. The 12-month on-ramp plan that promises to not penalize late payments will delay this impact, but there’s a good chance that at least some of those who struggled before the pandemic will soon find themselves back in a familiar situation.

2. Consumer spending will slow

Pandemic relief payments and forbearances on mortgages and student loans were just a few of the factors that led to households having more to spend during the pandemic. Money that may have otherwise gone to student loan debt could be used for home repairs, clothing, or entertainment and travel after pandemic restrictions were lifted. This robust consumer demand has played a role in higher-than-comfortable inflation rates over the past few years.

The return of a debt obligation means some households will have to rein in their spending once again, and consumer demand will likely fall.

3. Savings will remain low or fall further

The personal saving rate — a percentage of disposable income that people are able to set aside after taxes and expenses — rose significantly, hitting 34% early in the pandemic, but is now at the lowest since the Great Recession, at 4.6%, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. With student loan debt payments coming due, this rate will necessarily decline for those affected households.

4. Delinquencies across debt types may rise

Borrowers on a student loan payment pause “sharply increased mortgage, auto and credit card borrowing,” a new working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research reveals. Credit card balances initially fell in 2020 as relief payments came in and fewer debt payments went out, but that reduction in balances was ultimately undone. Overall, those balances were 10% higher by the first quarter of 2023. And it wasn’t just on credit cards that balances grew. Total debt balances grew by 19% from 2020 to 2023, compared to only 12% from 2017 to 2020, according to the Household Debt and Credit survey.

The increased liquidity, or available cash, in households with paused student loan debt may have gone toward home or auto down payments they previously struggled to afford, according to the NBER paper. Now, having to return to regularly scheduled student loan obligations after three years without payments could leave some new homeowners (and additional debtholders) strapped. Though the total share of delinquent debt balances fell from 3.2% to 1.4% in the three-year forbearance period, representing a difference of about $215 billion, it’s likely this will ultimately settle closer to the pre-pandemic rate.

How borrowers can cope

If you’re worried about your ability to make full student loan payments once the forbearance ends, the 12-month on-ramp period will save you from default, so consider easing back into full payments if it’s helpful. But remember, your loan balances will accrue interest during this time, so the sooner you can make full payments, the better. If your payments are simply too high to manage, contact your loan servicer; an income-driven repayment plan may be a good fit, and a new one is set to launch this fall.

“The House, they've been working on supposedly holding Hunter Biden accountable," DeSantis told reporters at the Iowa State Fair. "And like, I don't know what these guys are doing, but I think this special counsel, I think they're trying to checkmate that investigation."

“This is gonna be a total sham special counsel,” he continued. “You got the same guy who had been doing it with kid gloves anyways. And I think they're trying to kneecap the House’s ability to investigate. I'd like to see them get more mileage out of that Hunter Biden investigation. We want to see results.”

Weiss, who has been overseeing the investigation into Biden since 2018, was elevated to special counsel on Friday. While Republicans previously urged Attorney General Merrick Garland to appoint a special counsel in the probe, many criticized his decision to name Weiss.

The U.S. attorney for Delaware has faced sharp criticism from Republicans since he reached a plea agreement with the president’s son earlier this year.

The agreement, which would have seen Biden plead guilty to two minor tax offenses and enter into a pretrial diversion program on a gun charge, was denounced by many in the GOP as a “sweetheart” deal. However, the plea deal appears to have fallen apart in recent weeks.

Weiss’ investigation into Hunter Biden has also come under increased scrutiny after two IRS whistleblowers accused the Justice Department of slow-walking the case, giving the president’s son preferential treatment and declining to pursue charges in other jurisdictions with stronger evidence.

The two IRS agents testified last month before the House Oversight Committee, which has also been investigating Biden's foreign business dealings.

As outlined in a Southern Nevada Health District complaint, one of those hotels is Circus Circus.
According to records, a Circus Circus executive was notified of bed bugs in a room after a guest is bitten in January 2022. The room was inspected and bed bugs were found, placing it and nearby rooms out of service for a two-week treatment.

A few months later in June, health officials received another bed bug complaint for another Circus Circus room. It's then treated.

Along with Circus Circus, 8 News Now learned through a public records request that health inspectors discovered bed bugs at these six other Strip properties over the last year and a half: Caesars Palace, Planet Hollywood, Palazzo, Tropicana, MGM Grand, and Sahara.

All but two declined 8 News Now’s repeated attempts for comment.

In a statement, MGM International Resorts says in part, “We have comprehensive procedures in place to address and resolve any issue that may arise.”

Bed bugs were found in an MGM Grand room in January 2022, and it was then treated.

The Tropicana Las Vegas was also hit with bed bugs this year in February, and they told 8 News Now in a statement, “While highly unlikely, in the event of a complaint, we immediately isolate the affected room and its surrounding areas.”

Two Caesars Entertainment properties also had bed bugs.

A SNDH report says in January a person was bitten while staying at Caesars Palace. The room was then treated. At Planet Hollywood, bed bugs were found in June.

A guest staying at the Palazzo told health officials they were bitten in January 2022.

According to a complaint, a Sahara hotel guest squished a bed bug in October of that same year. The room tested positive, and it was cleaned.

Bobby James of Top Line Pest Control takes care of bed bugs at off-the-strip hotels.

“We got thousands of people coming into Vegas every day, so bed bugs catch a ride with somebody. They jump off into a hotel,” James said.

James suggests guests inspect their room once they get inside, especially around the bed.

“Hotels don't come with bed bugs in them. People bring them, so when they put a luggage on the bed, we don't know where they came from,” James said.

James says some signs are dark-colored spots, feces, and carcasses.

The Southern Nevada Health District told 8 News Now if a hotel takes care of bed bugs in a room once it learns of them, it does not assess a fine.

Hotels are only fined if they have ongoing complaints and don't provide adequate pest control.

While the former New Jersey governor is occasionally quizzed at town halls and in TV interviews about his policy positions, his frequent and at times personal criticisms of Trump have garnered him headlines and raised the question of whether he can make waves in the primary field either with his candidacy or by derailing Trump’s.

Trump has called Christie a “fat pig,” a “failed governor” and “sloppy,” and he posted an unflattering photo on social media of Christie sleeping on an airplane. He has blamed Christie for recommending the appointment of FBI Director Christopher Wray, who has become a lightning rod for criticism on the right.

Christie has responded every step of the way, or in some instances triggered Trump’s ire, calling the former president a failed leader, a “coward,” a “one-man crime wave,” and suggesting if the two fought, he would “kick his a--.” His campaign slogan — “Because the Truth Matters” — is a thinly veiled retort to Trump and his frequent falsehoods.

Christie was quick to endorse Trump after dropping out of the 2016 primary race. He was a candidate to serve as Trump’s White House chief of staff at one point, and the former governor aided in Trump’s debate prep in 2020.

But there is no love lost between the two men now, with Christie citing Trump’s refusal to accept the 2020 election results as a turning point. And the former governor’s insults are one part of his larger argument that Trump would cost the GOP in a general election.

“And that's why I need to stand up and make sure the truth is told about this,” Christie said this week on Fox News. “And, quite frankly, I don't understand why my other colleagues in this race are not saying it, except that either they're unwilling or too scared to do it. I'm neither.”

No holds barred

Christie has laid out his policy views on support for Ukraine — he is supportive while Trump opposes more aid — and abortion, where both he and Trump are anti-abortion but favor exceptions for cases of rape, incest and to protect the life of the mother.

But it is his no-holds-barred approach to attacking Trump’s character and fitness for office that has garnered Christie headlines and helped make him a regular presence on CNN, Fox News and Sunday morning news shows.

Christie has drawn the interest of enough donors and voters to make the stage for the first GOP primary debate later this month in Milwaukee. But it’s less clear whether it’s a strategy for long-term success in a Republican primary.

“He’s running reportedly on a platform of, ‘We’ve got to stop Donald Trump from being president.’ The problem he’s got is he needs voters who like Donald Trump a lot to be able to come and vote for him. I think it’s a hard road for Gov. Christie,” Justin Clark, Trump’s former deputy campaign manager, said on a podcast he hosts with former Christie aide and ex-Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien.

Christie has more or less ignored Iowa, which will host the first caucus on the primary calendar next January. Instead, he has put all of his efforts into courting voters in New Hampshire, a more purplish state that is more likely to be receptive to his message.

An NH Journal/co-efficient poll published this week found Trump receiving 43 percent in New Hampshire, with Christie and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) tied in second place at 9 percent.

A University of New Hampshire poll published in mid-July found 6 percent of likely GOP primary voters picked Christie as their first-choice candidate, behind Sen. Tim Scott (S.C.) (8 percent), Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (23 percent) and Trump (37 percent).

The same poll found that while Christie had seen a 5 percent boost in his support in the Granite State since April, 35 percent of likely primary voters said they would not vote for him under any circumstances, more than any other candidate.

“His pathway is hoping that the field dramatically clears out after Iowa and he somehow catches fire and shocks the world in New Hampshire,” said Alex Conant, who worked on Sen. Marco Rubio’s (R-Fla.) 2016 presidential campaign. 

“I think he wants to start a fight with Trump, but I think he’d be happy to throw some haymakers at other candidates,” he added. “I think that’s how he can increase his relevance, by landing punches. And I fully expect he’ll try to do that regardless of who else shows up [to the debate].”

Building momentum

Christie this week argued his campaign is building momentum, and he suggested most voters won’t truly start paying attention until the first debate later this month. Trump has indicated he may not attend the debate, scheduled for Aug. 23 in Milwaukee.

The former governor’s bare-knuckle style and background as a federal prosecutor make him a formidable opponent on the debate stage, as evidenced by his dismantling of Rubio during a 2016 presidential primary debate when Christie mocked the senator for reciting the same talking points repeatedly.

Some strategists argue that whether or not Christie is ultimately the nominee, his candidacy serves a worthwhile purpose as many in the party remain concerned about Trump’s electability and other anti-Trump voices, like Will Hurd and Asa Hutchinson, fail to break through.

“I think it’s something that Republican voters have to continually be confronted with, that Trump is unelectable and all the other things that Christie is pointing out,” said Rob Stutzman, a California-based GOP strategist. 

“Ironically it’s much like the role he played in being the hammer to Marco Rubio being the nail back in 2016,” Stutzman said. “He’s once again the hammer, and Trump this time is the nail. And [Christie] didn’t win New Hampshire, but he effectively wiped out another candidate. I think it's incredibly valuable that there’s someone out there doing it and someone who can go toe to toe with Trump.”

An estimated 2,170 acres burned in the Lahaina area, with 2,719 structures exposed to the fire.

The map further estimates a need to shelter 4,500 which is estimated to need 3,560 gallons of water and 9,000 meals a day.

Gov. Josh Green asked rental owners to house displaced residents, stating on Wake Up 2Day that he would change the rules, as needed. Maui Economic Opportunity is currently taking an inventory of available housing to meet the needs of displaced residents. Those able to help can email debbie.cabebe@meoinc.org.

Notable structures that were damaged or lost in the Lahaina fire include Pioneer Inn, along with its restaurant Papa'aina. The Lahaina Arts building was gutted, though its banyan tree remains standing.

Countless homes, where loved ones gathered and generations grew up, make up the bulk of the structures destroyed. The estimated structures that were damaged or destroyed is 2,207. Of those exposed structures 86% were residential.

While the Lahaina fire raged, the fire in Upcountry continued to burn, the total estimate of that fire being $434 million. An estimated 678 acres burned, with 96% of that estimate residential. A total of 544 homes were exposed to the fire.