Morning Briefing: A major disaster in Hawaii

By Justin Porter

Good morning. We’re covering the wildfire disaster in Hawaii and a deal between the U.S. and Iran to free five detainees.

Biden declares a major disaster in Hawaii

As the death toll from wildfires on the Hawaiian island of Maui climbed to 36, President Biden issued a major disaster declaration. Evacuation centers filled, tourists fled and rescuers searched for survivors.

Fueled by unusual conditions that included winds from a distant hurricane, the fire now ranks as one of the nation’s deadliest in decades. Flames burned with such intensity that at least a dozen people escaped into the Pacific Ocean, where they were later rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard.

Tad Craig, a wedding photographer who saw the wildfire on Tuesday in the town of Lahaina, said gas tanks were exploding and smoke was blowing sideways. “It was just a total inferno — Armageddon,” he said.

Officials said the fires had been largely contained, but were still generating smoke and ash. The authorities on Maui were forced to evacuate 11,000 tourists, the lifeblood of the local economy. The island is one of America’s most beloved vacation destinations.

Hawaii has battled a surge of fires in recent years. Declining rainfall, rising temperatures and invasive species have turned the islands into a tinderbox.

Take a look: These aerial photos of Lahaina, taken yesterday, and satellite images show the scale of the destruction.

The U.S. reached a deal with Iran to free five detainees

After more than two years of quiet negotiations, Iran agreed to release five Iranian American dual citizens in exchange for several jailed Iranians in the U.S. and the unfreezing of $6 billion in Iran’s oil revenue, according to several people familiar with the deal.

The five dual citizens were released into house arrest as a first step in the agreement, U.S. officials said. They will be held at a hotel in Tehran for several weeks until they are allowed to leave Iran.

The prisoners are Siamak Namazi, Emad Sharghi, Morad Tahbaz and two others — a scientist and a businessman — whose families withheld their names. Under the deal, the $6 billion will be placed in an account controlled by Qatar and regulated so that Iran can use the funds only to pay for humanitarian purchases such as medicine and food.

The deal with Iran — a bitter adversary of the U.S. — is the latest prisoner swap engineered in secret by the Biden administration in an effort to bring home Americans whom the State Department deems wrongfully detained in foreign countries.

A presidential candidate was assassinated in Ecuador

Fernando Villavicencio, who was gunned down on Wednesday at a campaign rally in the capital, Quito, had been vocal about ties between government officials and organized crime. Concerns over drug-related violence have dominated Ecuador’s presidential race as it heads into the first round of voting on Aug. 20.

A suspect was shot in crossfire with security forces and died shortly after, an official said. Later, six people were detained in connection with the assassination.

In just a few years, Ecuador has become the drug trade’s gold rush state, with major cartels joining forces with prison and street gangs.

ADVERTISEMENT

THE LATEST NEWS

• Ukraine ordered an evacuation from towns and villages in the northeastern Kharkiv region, where Russia was waging an offensive.
• A founder of Yandex, Russia’s largest tech company, condemned his country’s war in Ukraine as “barbaric.”
• President Biden asked Congress for another $24 billion to help Ukraine and other countries affected by Russia’s invasion.
• Russia has begun making copies of attack drones acquired from Iran and is using them in combat against Ukrainian forces, according to a report by a weapons research group.

• West African leaders said they have ordered the immediate deployment of a “standby force” ready to intervene in Niger, sticking with their threat of military action against coup leaders.
• Prosecutors overseeing the indictment of Donald Trump on charges of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election asked a judge to set a trial date for early January.
• Israel’s Supreme Court is preparing to hear an appeal against the government’s judicial overhaul and ultimately decide on its own fate.
• Russia is set to launch a robotic lander, Luna-25, to the moon, the first Russian mission to the moon since 1976.

• An F.B.I. agent killed a man who officials said had threatened to assassinate President Biden.
• Tapestry, the fashion company that owns Coach and Kate Spade, acquired Capri Holdings, the parent of Versace and Michael Kors, for about $8.5 billion.
• The Emmy Awards were pushed back to January because of the strikes by Hollywood screenwriters and actors.

Japan won the Women’s World Cup in 2011 but entered this year’s tournament ranked 11th by FIFA, a sign of how far its fortunes had slid. Now it’s back to playing like a champion, and it might be the tournament’s most impressive contender.

Subscribe Today

We hope you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times with this special offer.

ARTS AND IDEAS

Vietnam’s nightmares live on in art

One of the wisest, most beautiful and unsettling exhibitions in New York this summer, our critic Roberta Smith writes, is by the artist Tuan Andrew Nguyen. His video installations and sculptures show how the Vietnam War reverberates through generations. It is his first major show in an American museum.

Nguyen was born in Vietnam, in 1976, and came to the U.S. with his family three years later. In 2005 he moved to Ho Chi Minh City, where he continues to live. His work aims to heal the fragmented lives and retrieve the suppressed memories of the marginalized people most affected by colonization, war and displacement, especially in Vietnam.

PLAY, WATCH EAT

Smashed, salted cucumbers pair with avocados for a creamy salad.

Hear 16 essential songs from Robbie Robertson, chief songwriter and guitarist for the Band, who died this week at 80.

Tobi Ogundiran’s collection “Jackal, Jackal: Tales of the Dark and Fantastic” is on our list of recommended horror novels.

Here’s today’s Mini Crossword, and a clue: Opposite of pro (four letters).

And here are today’s Wordle and the Spelling Bee.

You can find all our puzzles here.

That’s it for today’s briefing. See you on Monday. — Justin

P.S. The Times added 180,000 new digital subscribers in the latest quarter, and now has nearly 10 million subscribers. If you’re one of them, thank you for supporting our journalism.

We welcome your feedback. You can reach us at briefing@nytimes.com.

ADVERTISEMENT

Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance.

You received this email because you signed up for Morning Briefing: Asia Pacific Edition from The New York Times.

To stop receiving Morning Briefing: Asia Pacific Edition, unsubscribe. To opt out of other promotional emails from The Times, including those regarding The Athletic, manage your email settings. To opt out of updates and offers sent from The Athletic, submit a request.

Subscribe to The TimesGet The New York Times app

Change Your EmailPrivacy PolicyContact UsCalifornia Notices

The New York Times Company. 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018