By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM (Associated Press/Report for America)

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Transgender youth in North Carolina lost access Wednesday to gender-affirming medical treatments after the Republican-led General Assembly overrode the governor’s vetoes of that legislation and other bills touching on gender in sports and LGBTQ+ instruction in the classroom.

GOP supermajorities in the House and Senate enacted — over Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s opposition — a bill barring medical professionals from providing hormone therapy, puberty-blocking drugs and surgical gender-transition procedures to anyone under 18, with limited exceptions.

The law takes effect immediately. But minors who had begun treatment before Aug. 1 may continue receiving that care if their doctors deem it medically necessary and their parents consent.

North Carolina becomes the 22nd state to enact legislation restricting or banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors. But most face legal challenges, and local LGBTQ+ rights advocates vow to take the ban to court. The Senate voted 27-18 to complete the veto override after the House voted 74-45 earlier. Two House Democrats joined all present Republicans in supporting the override bid.

Democratic Sen. Lisa Grafstein, North Carolina’s only out LGBTQ+ state senator, said the gender-affirming care bill “may be the most heartbreaking bill in a truly heartbreaking session.”

Republican Sen. Joyce Krawiec, the bill’s primary sponsor, argued the state has a responsibility to protect children from receiving potentially irreversible procedures before they are old enough to make their own informed medical decisions.

Gender-affirming care is considered safe and medically necessary by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association and the Endocrine Society. While trans minors very rarely receive surgical interventions, they are commonly prescribed drugs to delay puberty and sometimes begin taking hormones before reaching adulthood.

Some LGBTQ+ rights advocates in the Senate gallery began yelling after Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, who was presiding, cut off Grafstein to let another lawmaker speak. Several people were then escorted out by capitol police.

Earlier, the Senate and House voted minutes apart to override another veto of a bill limiting LGBTQ+ instruction in the early grades. The law now requires that public school teachers in most circumstances alert parents before they call a student by a different name or pronoun. It also bans instruction about gender identity and sexuality in K-4 classrooms, which critics have previously likened to a Florida law opponents call “Don’t Say Gay.”

Nathaniel Dibble, 19, and other LGBTQ+ youth who rallied outside the Legislative Building, said the bill would make schools unsafe for transgender students who could be outed by a teacher to unsupportive parents.

But bill sponsor Sen. Amy Galey, an Alamance County Republican, said parents have a right to know details about their children’s education. “Parents need to be brought into the conversation from the very beginning, not treated with suspicion or as the source of that anguish,” she said.

Both chambers also voted Wednesday to override Cooper’s veto of another bill banning transgender girls from playing on girls’ sports teams from middle and high school through college. It, too, immediately became law.

A day of divisive deliberations saw anger and emotion boil over at times.

Democratic Rep. John Autry of Mecklenburg County, who has a transgender grandchild, choked up while debating the gender-affirming care bill on the House floor. “Just stop it,” he begged his Republican colleagues before they voted.

Cooper blasted the Republican-controlled chambers for what he called “wrong priorities” even before lawmakers were done voting.

“The legislature finally comes back to pass legislation that discriminates,” he said, his statement warning of repercussions for North Carolina families and students.

Parents of trans and nonbinary children, like Elizabeth Waugh of Orange County, said before the voting that they have been weighing whether to move their families out of North Carolina so their children will have unrestricted access to gender-affirming health care.

Waugh’s nonbinary child did not begin receiving treatment before Aug. 1 and would need to travel elsewhere if they want to start taking hormones.

“I have felt like I had a lump in my throat for months,” she said. “Just talking to other families who are dealing with this, I mean, the pain that they are feeling, the suffering, the fear for their children — it’s devastating.”

The House kicked off the day’s rush of votes with the athletics bill, and the Senate completed that override soon after.

A former Olympic swimmer, Rep. Marcia Morey, spoke about the possible emotional impact of the law on young athletes.

“This bill affects 10-, 11-, 12-year-olds who are just starting to learn about athletics, about competition, about sportsmanship,” said Morey, a Durham County Democrat. “To some of these kids, it could be their lifeline to self-confidence.”

She and other critics said limits on transgender participation are discriminatory and will unfairly exclude a small number of students.

But recent high school graduate Payton McNabb, of Murphy, said she’s living proof that the law is needed to protect the safety and well-being of female athletes.

“The veto of this bill was not only a veto on women’s rights, but a slap in the face to every female in the state,” said McNabb, who says she suffered a concussion and neck injury last year after a transgender athlete hit her in the head with a volleyball during a school match.

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Hannah Schoenbaum is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

Communities and families across the commonwealth have experienced the devastating consequences of America’s gun violence epidemic, from last year’s tragic shooting at the University of Virginia to the mass shooting at a Wal-Mart in Chesapeake. We started the year with a 6-year old getting access to a gun and wounding his teacher in Newport News, and most recently a mass shooting broke out in Richmond during a graduation ceremony, killing one of the graduates and his stepfather.

Virginia has seen its share of gun violence. We have to do a better job keeping Virginians safe from this epidemic.

Earlier this summer, our nation commemorated National Gun Violence Awareness Weekend. Here in Virginia, Vice President Kamala Harris spoke at John Lewis High School in Springfield about gun violence in our country and the need for states to pass common-sense gun safety laws.

I am proud that in Virginia we have made significant strides in the gun safety movement by passing laws requiring background checks on all gun purchases, limiting firearm access by individuals in crisis (known as a reg-flag law), and prohibiting guns at polling places and in the state capitol; however, we have fallen short in enacting some of the most fundamental gun safety laws, such as requiring a permit to purchase firearms and requiring secure storage of firearms.

Legislation to require a permit before buying a firearm would give law enforcement a chance to keep guns out of the hands of those who shouldn’t have them by ensuring that, before anyone can purchase a gun in Virginia, they must first go through an initial background check and safety training to ensure they can handle a gun responsibly. It would also allow law enforcement officials to deny permits to people who they know pose a danger to themselves or others with a gun. It could also help prevent people from buying a firearm for someone else (straw purchases) and provide law enforcement officers with a vital tool to help investigate gun crimes and bring the people who commit them to justice.

This past session, my colleagues and I in the legislature had an opportunity to pass two life-saving secure storage bills requiring individuals to safely store firearms in their homes and vehicles. However, despite gun violence being the leading cause of death among children and teens and an overwhelming number of unintentional shootings by children could have been prevented had the guns been stored securely, my Republican colleagues blocked these bills from advancing, thereby making our communities even more vulnerable to gun violence.

Time and time again, we have seen how gun violence takes away the joy from the most important and sacred moments in life, shattering communities and forever traumatizing survivors and families. These senseless acts of gun violence are a uniquely American crisis. The United States is not the only country with mental illness, domestic violence or hate-fueled ideologies, but because of lax laws and easy access to guns, our gun homicide rate is 26 times that of other high-income countries. If more guns made us safer, we’d be the safest country in the world. Instead, community after community grieves these senseless tragedies. The data is clear: Strong gun laws save lives, and states with weaker gun laws and higher gun ownership rates have higher rates of gun violence.

Before the commonwealth mourns yet another mass shooting, I am calling on my fellow lawmakers to not be afraid and take action on gun safety by passing legislation this upcoming session that will require a permit to purchase firearms and requiring all individuals to securely store firearms in their homes and vehicles. There is no higher calling as a lawmaker to make sure that your constituents are safe and have the resources they need to have the best quality of life.

Del. Patrick Hope is serving his seventh term in the Virginia General Assembly, representing Arlington County.

Dave Goldiner | New York Daily News

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis on Wednesday asked a judge to set a March 4 trial date for former President Trump’s Georgia election interference case — the day before the pivotal Super Tuesday primaries.

The Atlanta prosecutor suggested the date in a new legal filing in the racketeering indictment of Trump and 18 co-defendants.

Willis also asked the judge to set an arraignment for all 19 defendants, including Trump, during the week of Sept. 5, following Labor Day.

The proposed trial date, which many analysts expect to be extraordinarily fast, would come in the middle of the Republican presidential primary fight in which Trump is currently the dominant frontrunner.

Super Tuesday, with primaries in 15 states including California, Texas, North Carolina, Virginia, and Massachusetts, is set for Tuesday, March 5.

The proposed Atlanta trial date would come before Trump’s planned March 25 trial date in the New York case related to the Stormy Daniels hush money payments and a May 20 trial date in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case.

Special counsel Jack Smith has asked for a Jan. 2 trial date for Trump in the Jan. 6 case.

Trump has not responded yet to that proposed date but he has claimed he should not face any trial before the 2024 election, in which he hopes to win a second term in the White House.

The trial date filing came as Trump reportedly opened negotiations on the terms of his surrender to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ office in Atlanta, CNN reported Wednesday..

Trump and 18 indicted co-defendants in the sprawling racketeering case have been given until Aug. 25 to turn themselves in or presumably face further law enforcement action.

Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat has instructed the defendants to appear at the Rice Street jail in downtown Atlanta, which is open 24 hours a day.

He has vowed that Trump will receive no special treatment and will be fingerprinted and photographed like any other defendant.

But the Secret Service will likely be involved in any talks and might seek to streamline the process for Trump for security reasons.

Unlike the scenario in other cases, Trump and other defendants in the Georgia case will not be immediately arraigned and will appear before a judge at a later date.

The racketeering law that Trump and the others were charged with has an unusual requirement that defendants may only be freed pending trial if a judge rules there is “no significant risk” they would seek to intimidate witnesses or others connected to the case.

That will be a tricky bar for Trump to clear given his history of lashing out at witnesses, prosecutors and judges in virtually every criminal case and other disputes he has been involved in.

He wrote on social media that former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan “should not” appear before the grand jury on the day of his indictment, a warning that could be considered witness tampering.

Rudy Giuliani, one of Trump’s co-defendants, is also embroiled in a defamation lawsuit filed by Atlanta election workers whom he falsely accused of rigging votes for President Biden, a fact that could count against him when asking for bail.

©2023 New York Daily News. Visit nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

The wildfire that last week engulfed the Lahaina waterfront on the Hawaiian island of Maui almost defies comprehension. Fueled by powerful winds, the blaze tore through the beautiful oceanside hamlet, killing at least 106 people and leaving the area in ruins. More than a thousand people are missing.

The federal government is sending help and the state government is working with Washington to coordinate the response, with the president and first lady set to visit next week. But the people of Hawaii also need our generosity at this perilous hour, along with our best efforts to contain the climate forces which contributed to this disaster.

About 13,000 people live in the historic city of Lahaina, a place of cultural and economic importance to the Hawaiian people. Kamehameha I selected it as the capital of the Hawaiian kingdom in 1802 — it was moved to Honolulu in 1845 — and it was a hub of global trade for the island nation both before and after.

In recent years, Lahaina, and Maui, generated considerable revenue as a tourist destination but the city continued to be the center of preservation efforts to protect Hawaiian culture, including language and traditions that might otherwise be lost.

According to The New York Times, a brush fire that began under an electric pole snapped by high winds grew into an inferno that tore through the city hours after firefighters said it had been contained. There was little notice of the imminent danger faced by those in the fire’s path, which may have contributed to the devastating toll.

That’s the overhead, antiseptic view of what happened. The situation on the ground, as told through numerous media reports, was harrowing and terrifying. People scrambled through smoke and over walls to take refuge in the water. Others lost their lives helping others or rescuing pets. So many homes, businesses and memories were reduced to ash and rubble.

If it’s heartbreaking to those of us reading about it on the other side of the country, one cannot imagine the devastation of those who lived through it and must now rebuild. As Hampton Roads residents know all too well, the aftermath of a natural disaster saps your spirit and makes it hard to hold on to hope.

President Joe Biden’s issuance of a Major Disaster Declaration for Hawaii will expedite federal relief efforts to care for the affected and displaced. So too will the rapid mobilization of non-government organizations to Maui to provide on-the-ground help.

These include the American Red Cross (redcross.org), the Hawai’i Community Foundation’s Maui Strong Fund (hawaiicommunityfoundation.org), and Mercy Chefs (mercychefs.com), a faith-based non-profit located in Portsmouth serving meals to victims. As always, be wary of scams and use Charity Navigator at charitynavigator.org to avoid bad actors.

Climate change is the larger issue fueling this disaster and so many others caused by extreme weather. What happened in Hawaii wasn’t solely due to a warming planet, but meteorologists contend that changing conditions make storms more destructive, droughts more severe and wildfires more ferocious.

From slow-moving storms, heavy with precipitation, that caused flash floods in the Northeast last month, to the brutal heat that has baked the Southwest for months, to tornadoes that ripped through the Southeast — including a twister that hit Virginia Beach in April, this has been a year of extreme weather. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the United States has already recorded 15 disasters costing $1 billion or more in 2023, with more than four months left to go.

Helping those who lost everything in Hawaii — and doing so today — remains the top priority. Those affected have a long road ahead and every bit of generosity will make it easier to travel. But the nation must also act proactively to make communities more resilient to extreme weather and reduce the harmful emissions fueling global warming, recognizing that conditions will continue to worsen without swift and concerted action.

By ADRIAN SAINZ and TERESA M. WALKER (Associated Press)

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A prominent Memphis couple with a longstanding relationship to former NFL player Michael Oher want to end a conservatorship that he’s challenging in court, their lawyers said.

Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy intend to enter into a consent order to end the conservatorship, lawyer Randall Fishman told reporters on Wednesday.

Oher filed a petition Monday in a Tennessee probate court accusing the Tuohys of lying to him by having him sign papers making them his conservators rather than his adoptive parents nearly two decades ago.

Oher, now 37, wants a full accounting of assets considering his life story produced millions of dollars, though he says he received nothing from the Oscar-nominated movie “The Blind Side.” He accuses the Tuohys of falsely representing themselves as his adoptive parents, saying that he discovered in February 2023 that the conservatorship was not the arrangement he thought it was — and that it provided him no familial relationship to the Tuohys.

But the Tuohys’ attorneys said Oher knew very well that he had not been adopted. Fishman said Oher mentioned the Tuohys being conservators for him three times in “I Beat The Odds: From Homeless, To The Blind Side,” Oher’s first book in 2011.

The couple’s attorneys also said that the Tuohys and Oher have been estranged for about a decade. Steve Farese said Oher has become “more and more vocal and more and more threatening” over the past decade or so, and this is “devastating for the family.”

The Tuohys have called the allegations a ridiculous shakedown attempt, and “a court of law is no place to play,” Fishman said. In a statement released by their lawyers Tuesday, the Tuohys said Oher had threatened before the court filing to plant a negative news story about them unless they paid him $15 million.

Oher’s lawyers did not immediately return messages seeking comment.

The conservatorship paperwork was filed months after Oher turned 18 in May 2004. Oher accuses the Tuohys of never taking legal action to assume custody from the Tennessee Department of Human Services before he turned 18, though he was told to call them “Mom” and “Dad.”

Oher alleges the Tuohys had him sign paperwork almost immediately after he moved in as part of the adoption process. Oher says he was “falsely advised” that it would be called a conservatorship because he was already 18, but that adoption was the intent.

The couple didn’t simply adopt Oher, Fishman said, because the conservatorship was the fastest way to satisfy the NCAA’s concerns that the Tuohys weren’t simply steering a talented athlete to Mississippi, their alma mater where Oher later attended.

Oher, who has never been a fan of the movie about his life, asks that the Tuohys be sanctioned and required by the probate court to pay damages. He asks to be paid what he is due, along with interest.

Agents negotiated a small advance for the Tuohys from the production company for “The Blind Side,” based on a book written by Sean Tuohy’s friend Michael Lewis, the couple said. That included “a tiny percentage of net profits” divided equally among a group that included Oher, they said in their statement.

The attorneys said they estimated each of the Tuohys and Oher received $100,000 apiece, and the couple paid taxes on Oher’s portion for him. “Michael got every dime, every dime he had coming,” Fishman said.

“They don’t need his money,” Farese said. “They’ve never needed his money. Mr. Tuohy sold his company for $220 million.”

Martin Singer, an attorney for the Tuohys, said that profit participation checks and studio accounting statements support their assertions. The movie won Sandra Bullock an Oscar for her portrayal of Leigh Anne Tuohy.

When Oher refused to cash the checks, the statement said, the Tuohys deposited Oher’s share into a trust account.

The Tuohys said that they set up the conservatorship to help Oher with health insurance, a driver’s license and being admitted to college. In Tennessee, a conservatorship removes power from a person to make decisions for themselves, and it is often used in the case of a medical condition or disability.

But Oher’s conservatorship was approved “despite the fact that he was over 18 years old and had no diagnosed physical or psychological disabilities,” his petition said.

Oher was the 23rd overall pick in the 2009 draft out of Mississippi, and he spent his first five seasons with the Baltimore Ravens where he won a Super Bowl. He played 110 games over eight NFL seasons, including 2014 when he started 11 games for the Tennessee Titans. Oher finished his career with two years in Carolina.

He last played in 2016 and was released in 2017 by Carolina. He is on a book tour for “When Your Back’s Against the Wall: Fame, Football, and Lessons Learned Through a Lifetime of Adversity.”

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

By JOHN HANNA and JIM SALTER (Associated Press)

MARION, Kansas (AP) — A police raid that drew national attention to a small Kansas newspaper over threats to press freedoms wasn’t supported by evidence, a prosecutor said Wednesday, as the paper’s staff scrambled to print its first edition since their cellphones and computers were seized.

Forced to rewrite wholescale stories and ads from scratch, the four-person newsroom toiled overnight to print Wednesday’s edition, with a defiant front-page headline that read: “SEIZED … but not silenced.” Under the 2-inch-tall typeface, they published stories on the raid and the influx of support the weekly newspaper has since received.

On Wednesday, Marion County Attorney Joel Ensey said his review of police seizures from the Marion County Record offices found “insufficient evidence exists to establish a legally sufficient nexus between this alleged crime and the places searched and the items seized.”

“As a result, I have submitted a proposed order asking the court to release the evidence seized. I have asked local law enforcement to return the material seized to the owners of the property,” Ensey said in a news release.

Last week, a police raid of the newspaper’s offices, and the home of its editor and publisher, foisted the town into the center of a national debate about press freedom, with watchdog groups condemning the department’s actions. Eric Meyer, the publisher, believes the raid was carried out because the newspaper was investigating why the police chief left his previous post as an officer in Kansas City, Missouri.

Police Chief Gideon Cody left the Missouri department earlier this year and began the job in Marion in June. He has not responded to interview requests.

Asked if the newspaper’s investigation of Cody may have had anything to do with the decision to raid it, Bernie Rhodes, the newspaper’s attorney, responded: “I think it is a remarkable coincidence if it didn’t.”

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation is leading the investigation into the raid and what allegedly prompted it. A search warrant suggests it was over the newspaper’s examination of a local restaurant owner. On Wednesday, the state agency said its investigation remains open, but authorities will continue their work without examining any of the evidence seized last Friday. Once the state investigators finish their work, they will turn their findings over to prosecutors for possible charges.

The sheriff on Wednesday released the seized items to a forensic auditor hired by the newspaper’s attorney to determine whether information on computers, cellphones and other equipment was copied.

TV and print reporters joined the conversation Wednesday in what is normally a quiet community of about 1,900 residents.

Even the White House weighed in. “This administration has been vocal about the importance of the freedom of press, here and around the globe,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at her daily briefing on Wednesday. “That is the core value when you think about our democracy, when you think about the cornerstone of our democracy, the freedom of press is right there.”

She said the raid raises “a lot of concerns and a lot of questions for us.”

The newspaper’s publisher said all of the returned equipment will be forensically audited to make sure that nothing is missing or was tampered with.

“You cannot let bullies win,” Meyer said. “And eventually, a bully will cross a line to the point that it becomes so egregious that other people come around and support you.”

He added, “We have a staff that’s very experienced, including myself, and we’re not going to take crap.”

Meyer has said that the stress from the raid of his home caused the death Saturday of his 98-year-old mother, Joan, the paper’s co-owner.

To put out the Wednesday edition of the paper, journalists and those involved in the business side of the newspaper used a couple of old computers that police didn’t confiscate, taking turns to get stories to the printer, to assemble ads and to check email. Because electronics were so scarce, it took the newsroom until 5 a.m. to finish the paper, said Emily Bradbury, the Kansas Press Association’s executive director. Bradbury chipped in herself by answering phones and ordering meals for staffers.

“There were literally index cards going back and forth,” said Rhodes, who was also in the office. “They had all the classified ads, all the legal notices that they had to recreate. All of those were on the computers.”

The newspaper’s press run is normally 4,000 papers but since the raids they have received more than 2,000 new subscriptions, Meyer said.

At one point, a couple visiting from Arizona stopped at the front desk to buy a subscription, just to show their support, Bradbury said. Many others from around the country have purchased subscriptions since the raids. An office manager told Bradbury that she’s having a hard time keeping up with demand.

The raids exposed a divide over local politics and how the Record covers Marion, which sits about 150 miles (241 kilometers) southwest of Kansas City.

A warrant signed by a magistrate about two hours before Friday’s raid said that local police sought to gather evidence of potential identity theft and other computer crimes stemming from a conflict between the newspaper and a local restaurant owner, Kari Newell.

Newell accused the newspaper of violating her privacy and said she believes the newspaper broke the law to get her personal information. The newspaper countered that it received that information unsolicited, then verified it through public online records.

Meyer said the newspaper ultimately decided not to write a story about Newell, but later reported about a city council meeting, in which Newell confirmed she’d had a DUI conviction and drove after her license was suspended.

Still, Meyer said police seized a computer tower and cellphone belonging to a reporter who wasn’t part of the effort to check on the business owner’s background.

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Salter contributed to this report from O’Fallon, Missouri. Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed from Washington.

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Follow John Hanna on Twitter: https://twitter.com/apjdhanna

Juan Yepez hit a pair of three-run homers and Gordon Graceffo and Connor Thomas combined on a three-hitter as the Memphis Redbirds routed the Norfolk Tides 10-0 on Wednesday night in Tennessee.

The Redbirds (58-58, 19-22 in second half) limited the Tides (69-46, 21-20) to three hits for the second straight night in taking a 2-0 series lead.

Norfolk has dropped eight of its past nine games and has been held to two or fewer runs in those eight defeats.

Tides starter Cade Povich (0-2) had pitched well in his previous two starts, but Memphis roughed him up for nine runs on seven hits in 1.2 innings.

Yepez, who finished 2 for 4 with six RBIs and has played in 96 games in the majors, hit his homers in his first two at-bats as the Redbirds scored three runs in the first inning and six in the second.

Graceffo (4-2) allowed two hits in five innings with six strikeouts and three walks. Thomas earned his first save of the season by giving up a hit in four innings with four strikeouts and no walks.

Lewin Díaz had two of the Tides’ three hits, including a double, and Colton Cowser had the other hit in his first game back with Norfolk since the Baltimore Orioles optioned him two days ago.

The two teams will play again at 7:45 p.m. Thursday.

By The Associated Press

Follow live updates about wildfires that have devastated parts of Maui in Hawaii, killing more than 100 people and destroying the historic town of Lahaina. The wildfires are the deadliest in the U.S. in more than a century. Videos showing downed power lines apparently sparking some of the early blazes have become key evidence in the search for a cause.

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said Wednesday that he has instructed state Attorney General Anne Lopez to work toward a moratorium on land transactions in the Lahaina area.

Green said he has heard of people he described as not even in real estate reaching out to ask about purchasing land owned by people in the disaster area.

“My intention from start to finish is to make sure that no one is victimized from a land grab,” he said. “People are right now traumatized. Please do not approach them with an offer to buy their land. Do not approach their families saying they’ll be much better off if they make a deal. Because we’re not going to allow it.”

He said he’d have more details by Friday and added that he’d also like to see a long-term moratorium on land bought by people who are not on Maui.

Hawaii’s governor on Wednesday added four more people to the list of those killed in a fire that decimated the town of Lahaina on Maui last week. Gov. Josh Green said 110 people are confirmed dead and that 38% of the disaster area has been searched.

“It makes us heartbroken,” Green said at a news conference.

He also said about 2,000 homes and businesses remained without electricity in the area and that those people would also be eligible for services if they are suffering without power.

— What spurred the fires? Right now, it’s unclear; authorities say the cause is under investigation

— What is the status of the fires? The county says the fire in centuries-old Lahaina has been 85% contained, while another blaze known as the Upcountry fire has been around 60% contained

— How does the loss of life confirmed so far compare with other U.S. fires? For now, it is the country’s deadliest fire in more than 100 years, with officials saying more than 100 people are dead, but the governor says scores of more bodies could be found

— How are search efforts going? The police chief said Monday that crews using cadaver dogs have scoured at least 30% of the search area, with five bodies identified so far

— Why did the fire cause so much destruction so quickly? The governor says the flames on Maui were fueled by dry grass and propelled by strong winds from a passing hurricane, and raced as fast as a mile (1.6 kilometers) every minute in one area

— Did emergency notification services work? Officials failed to activate sirens and instead relied on a series of sometimes confusing social media posts; meanwhile, residents faced power and cellular outages

— An electric utility is facing criticism and a lawsuit for not shutting off the power amid high wind warnings and as dozens of poles began to topple; in what may have been one of multiple ignition sources, a video shows a cable dangling in a charred patch of grass, surrounded by flames

The Mexican foreign ministry said it has confirmed that two people of Mexican nationality died as a result of the wildfires.

Personnel from the Mexican Consulate in San Francisco are on Maui and are in contact with the families of the deceased to provide assistance to them, the foreign ministry said in a statement. No details were immediately available, including whether the victims were tourists or among the many foreign workers in Lahaina.

The consulate in San Francisco did not immediately respond to a request for details.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has opened its first disaster recovery center on Maui to help victims of the Lahaina wildfires.

The agency is also sending in more dogs to help with search and recovery.

Deanne Criswell, the FEMA administrator, on Wednesday called the center’s opening “an important first step.”

The centers are temporary places where people can get information about assistance from multiple federal agencies, not just FEMA. They also can get their questions answered and get updates on the status of their aid applications.

The number of canine search teams will be increased to more than 40 because of the difficulty of the search and recovery operation. The dogs need to rest frequently because of the terrain and the heat.

Criswell answered questions from reporters at the White House after she briefed President Joe Biden in the Oval Office. Biden spoke by telephone with Gov. Josh Green during their meeting, she said.

Criswell will accompany Biden to Maui on Monday when he travels there to survey the damage. She said Biden will “bring hope.”

People can apply for assistance by going to disasterassistance.gov or calling 1-800-621-FEMA.

Most public schools on Hawaii’s second-largest island have begun to reopen this week, starting with staff reporting for duty, according to the state’s department of education. But several schools are still being assessed to make sure they are safe for students and teachers, with crews cleaning debris and testing both air and water quality.

Hawaii Department of Education superintendent Keith Hayashi visited three campuses in Lahaina on Monday, which remain closed after sustaining wind damage. Officials will determine reopening dates for those schools once they are confirmed safe.

“There’s still a lot of work to do, but overall, the campuses and classrooms are in good condition structurally, which is encouraging,” Hayashi said in a video update. “We know the recovery effort is still in the early stages, and we continue to grieve the many lives lost.”

If they are ready and able, Lahaina students may enroll in nearby schools so they have access to in-person services like meals, socialization and counseling, Hayashi said.

Schools in Central, South and Upcountry Maui and a few off-island schools have already begun enrolling displaced students. The Department says it is also offering both in-person and telehealth counseling for students, family and staff.

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will travel to Maui next week in the aftermath of the deadliest wildfires in the U.S. in more than a century, the White House announced Wednesday.

The Bidens will meet Monday with survivors of the fires, as well as first responders and other government officials. They will “see firsthand the impacts of the wildfires and the devastating loss of life and land that has occurred on the island, as well as discuss the next steps in the recovery effort,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement Wednesday.

Biden and White House officials have signaled for days that a presidential visit was in the works as long as it would not disrupt search and recovery efforts. Hawaii Gov. Josh Green has informed the White House that Biden’s visit early next week should be fine.

Gov. Josh Green opened a main road so drivers can travel east to west on Maui during limited hours as of Wednesday.

“We will have, of course, our National Guard responsible on the side of the road so that no one goes into the impact zone,” where teams are still searching for fatalities following last week’s wildfires, Green said on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

“What I can tell you is people are holding up,” he said, adding, “We’re just grateful for everyone’s outpouring of support. And though the workload is extraordinary and our hearts are broken, we will get through it. We just are still kind of in the thick of doing recovery.”

Maui County released the names of two people killed in the wildfire that all but incinerated the historic town of Lahaina Tuesday evening, as the death toll rose to 106.

A mobile morgue unit arrived Tuesday to help Hawaii officials working painstakingly to identify remains, as teams intensified the search for more dead in neighborhoods reduced to ash.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services deployed a team of coroners, pathologists and technicians along with exam tables, X-ray units and other equipment to identify victims and process remains, said Jonathan Greene, the agency’s deputy assistant secretary for response.

“It’s going to be a very, very difficult mission,” Greene said. “And patience will be incredibly important because of the number of victims.”

The county said in a statement Lahaina residents Robert Dyckman, 74, and Buddy Jantoc, 79 were among the dead, the first people so named. A further three victims have been identified, the county wrote, and their names will be released once the county has identified their next of kin.

The blaze that burned through the town of Lahaina on Maui last week has killed at least 101 people, Hawaii’s governor said Tuesday, as recovery efforts continue.

“We are heartsick that we’ve had such loss,” Gov. Josh Green said during a news conference Tuesday.

Green had said earlier Tuesday during an appearance on Hawaii News Now that children are among the victims of the fires.

The fire is the deadliest in the U.S. in the past century. It has surpassed the toll of the 2018 Camp Fire in Northern California, which left 85 dead.

A century earlier, the 1918 Cloquet Fire broke out in drought-stricken northern Minnesota and raced through a number of rural communities, killing hundreds and destroying thousands of homes.

The Lahaina fire caused about $3.2 billion in insured property losses, calculated Karen Clark & Company, a prominent disaster and risk modeling company. That doesn’t count damage to property not insured.

The risk firm said more than 2,200 buildings were damaged or destroyed by fire with a total of more than 3,000 buildings damaged by fire or smoke or both. Because so many of the buildings were wood frame and older, the damage rates were higher than other fires, the firm said.

The Hawaii National Guard has activated about 258 Army National Guard and Air National Guard personnel to help respond to the fires.

Guard members will offer support to the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency and local law enforcement agencies and help with command and control efforts, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said Tuesday.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is helping with debris removal and temporary power. The Corps has deployed 27 personnel — active duty and civilians — and 41 contractor personnel.

The U.S. Coast Guard has shifted its focus to minimizing maritime environmental impacts but is still ready to help individuals in the water.

Coast Guard Maritime Safety and Security Team Honolulu and the Coast Guard National Strike Force have established a safety zone extending one nautical mile seaward from the shoreline.

The have also deployed pollution response teams and equipment, including a 100-foot boom at the mouth of Blaina Harbor to contain any potentially hazardous contaminants and material. There are about 140 Coast Guard members aiding the response effort.

Singh said she doesn’t know how many active-duty troops have responded, but said that active-duty forces will be part of the ongoing effort.

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GOLF

The University of Virginia’s Ben James and Rui Chang have advanced to the round of 32 in match play at the U.S. Amateur Championship on Wednesday in Parker, Colorado.

James, a sophomore from Milford, Connecticut, won 4 and 2 over Trevor Garus of Boise, Idaho. Chang, a junior from China, won 2 and 1 over Caden Fioroni of San Diego.

A third UVA golfer, freshman Josh Duangmanee of Fairfax, lost 5 and 3 to Brendan Valdes of Orlando, Florida.

The tournament continues Thursday.

COLLEGE BASEBALL

NSU-VSU alumni game planned

The inaugural Battle for The Real Big State charity baseball game, featuring alumni from rivals Norfolk State and Virginia State, will be held Saturday, Aug. 26, at Shepherd Stadium in Colonial Heights.

The game will begin at 1 p.m.

The event is being organized by an executive team led by Mike Burd, Roger Hall and Matt Boone in partnership with MG Studios LLC and the two schools’ athletic departments and booster clubs.

COLLEGE SOCCER

UVA third in division of ACC poll

Virginia has been picked to finish third in the Coastal Division of the preseason ACC men’s soccer poll, while Virginia Tech is sixth.

Forward Leo Afonso represented the Cavaliers on the ACC preseason watch list. Goalkeeper Connor Jordan-Hyde made the list for the Hokies.

Clemson topped the preseason poll and is first in the Atlantic Division. Pitt is No. 1 in the Coastal Division.

• The Old Dominion women’s soccer team will open its season at 6 p.m. Thursday at George Mason. The Monarchs won the Sun Belt Conference Tournament last season, Meanwhile, Gry Boe Thrysoe, Ece Turkoglu and Megan Watts have been named the team’s captains.
• The Christopher Newport men’s soccer team has been ranked No. 21 in the United Soccer Coaches preseason national rankings.

COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL

W&M eighth in CAA preseason poll

William & Mary has been picked to finish eighth out of 12 teams in the CAA volleyball preseason poll.

Four-time defending CAA champion Towson topped the poll, while Hampton was last.

William & Mary outside hitter Eleanor Stothoff made the preseason All-CAA Team.

Delaware’s Lani Mason was the Preseason Player of the Year.

Briefly

• Virginia Tech softball coach Pete D’Amour has announced the addition of Jayme Bailey and Madison Hanson to his staff for the upcoming season. Bailey will be a student assistant coach, while Hanson will be director of player engagement.