The fires that broke out on Maui last week have exacerbated Hawaii’s housing crisis as more than more than 3,000 buildings in Lahaina were damaged or destroyed, leaving many wondering if homeowners can afford to rebuild

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(Repeats for additional subscribers) LONDON The European Commission has announced restrictions on the imports of Ukrainian wheat, maize,

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Police are hunting for a taxi driver accused of sexually assaulting a British teenager in the party town of Magaluf, in Spain. On Friday, it was reported that the 17-year-old was accompanied by his mother to a police station in the Mallorca town where he claimed he was assaulted in the back of a taxi. He told officers he was on his way back to his hotel from party strip Punta Ballena when the cab driver allegedly began touching him, local newspaper Ultima Hora reported. The driver then allegedly demanded the teenager perform a sex act on him, leading to a row. The boy also accused the driver of physically assaulting him, claiming he hurt his head on the door of the car while trying to escape. A Police spokesperson confirmed an “allegation has been made”, and that the claims were being investigated. Officers of the Civil Guard are said to be working to identify the alleged perpetrator. The Independent has contacted the Civil Guard for comment. Earlier this week, a British man was arrested for allegedly groping a 20-year-old British woman at an unnamed hotel in Magaluf, police said. The 48-year-old man allegedly approached the woman from behind and put his hands down her pants, before touching her private parts. She told the police she didn’t know the man and that they’d never met before the alleged incident. A suspect was arrested shortly after the hotel’s receptionist contacted the police. Last month, two Irish tourists were arrested after a British woman claimed she was raped at a hotel in Calvia, Magaluf. They were held at Palma airport on 19 July as they were preparing to board a flight to Dublin, the Civil Guard said in a statement at the time. Police said the pair had been detained in jail, pending an investigation. Additional reporting by agencies. Read More Maui fires – live: Wildfires death toll climbs to 55 with 1,000 people still missing on Hawaii island Ukraine-Russia war – live: Another drone attack on Moscow after fire breaks out near Putin’s residence How a TikTok craze led to five hours of chaos on London’s busiest shopping street Another drone attack on Moscow after fire breaks out near Putin’s home - live Cats given anti-Covid pills after thousands die from feline virus in Cyprus Church burns after Russian strike on residential area of Zaporizhzhia

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After US Attorney General Merrick Garland designated a special counsel to oversee investigations into Hunter Biden, his attorney is “confident” that the federal prosecutor will draw the same conclusions that the US Department of Justice reached earlier this year. If newly appointed Justice Department special counsel David Weiss continues the five years of work that led to initial charges against President Joe Biden’s son, “then the only conclusion can be what the conclusion was on July 26,” attorney Abbe Lowell told CBS Face the Nation on 13 August. There is “no new evidence to be found” following the two misdemeanor tax and gun charges that Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to last month, Mr Lowell said. “I don’t know the possibility exists after this kind of painstaking investigation for them to be, ‘Oh, my gosh, there’s a new piece of evidence,’” he added. His remarks follow heightened Republican scrutiny into the president and his son, as a parallel congressional probe appears to come apart and Donald Trump’s allies attempt to bolster their defence of the former president against a mountain of federal charges by deflecting to allegations of rampant corruption and criminality under the current administration. Less than a year ago, Senate Republicans – eager to persecute the Biden family – urged Mr Garland to designate David Weiss as special counsel. When he did, those same Republicans spent the days that followed railing against it. They claim that a “sweetheart” plea deal compromised the investigation. Hunter Biden was set to plead guilty to misdemeanour tax charges and enter a diversion agreement related to a felony gun charge in July, but the agreement appeared to hit a snag during a federal court hearing, and the judge presiding over the case ultimately rejected the arrangement. “One, they wrote something and weren’t clear what they meant; two, they knew what they meant and misstated it to counsel; or, third, they changed their view as they were standing in court in Delaware,” Mr Lowell said on Face the Nation of the prosecutors involved with the case. “One of the possibilities is the prosecutor stood up and decided for lots of reasons that might be apparent to the viewer, they didn’t like what people were saying about the deal they approved,” he added. Mr Weiss, who has served as the US attorney for Delaware since 2018, has led federal investigations into Hunter Biden since 2019 under Mr Trump’s administration, and while his title changed this past week, “he’s the same person he’s been for the last five years,” Mr Lowell said. “He’s a Republican US attorney appointed by a Republican president and attorney general who had career prosecutors working this case for five years looking at every transaction that Hunter was involved in,” he added. “If anything changes from his conclusion … the question should be asked, what infected the process that was not the facts in the law?” Mr Lowell also was critical of right-wing media for its coverage of the case, as pundits devote significant airtime to allegations and spurious congressional probes to his client while trying to connect President Biden to his son’s alleged crimes. Several House Republicans have threatened to file articles of impeachment against the president invoking those claims; US Rep Greg Steube filed an impeachment resolution on 11 August “for high crimes and misdemeanours” based on accusations of fraud, obstruction of justice and bribery. “The facts and the evidence that have been pursued by however many members of Congress and their staffs and media, looking for any possible connection has shown time and time again – it doesn’t exist,” Mr Lowell said. If President Biden calls his son on speakerphone and “says hello to the people in the room, that is not an offence,” he said. “That is nothing other than a loving father.” Democratic US Rep Dan Goldman said Hunter Biden should face criminal charges if prosecutors find that he has committed crimes. “I’m a Democrat saying that,” he told CNN’s State of the Union. “You don’t hear any currently elected Republican saying that if Donald Trump committed crimes, he should be charged with them and held accountable. And that’s a critical distinction that the public needs to understand.” Read More Ted Cruz rails against Hunter Biden special counsel appointment that he requested Prosecutor in Hunter Biden case is given special counsel status by attorney general Trump and Hunter Biden legal blockbusters rock Washington – but offer a contrast

Alabama asked the Supreme Court on Monday evening to freeze a lower court ruling that blocks the state's newly drawn congressional map, in a filing that critics say defies a Supreme Court opinion that was issued just three months ago.

The Electric Reliability Council Of Texas (ERCOT) urged consumers to voluntarily conserve power between 3:00 p.m. and 8:00