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Today’s edition of quick hits.
* The confirmed death toll from Hawaii's wildfires now stands at 111.
* In related news: “Hawaii’s attorney general announced Thursday that she will tap a ‘third-party private organization’ to investigate how state and county agencies handled the monstrous wildfires that ripped across Maui, ravaging communities.”
* In Georgia: “The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office announced Thursday it is investigating online threats to the members of the grand jury that indicted former President Donald Trump and 18 others earlier this week.”
* The newest hurricane is in the Pacific: “Hurricane Hilary was upgraded to a Category 1 hurricane from a tropical storm Thursday morning, and all eyes are on the potential for significant impacts to California and the Southwest.”
* A notable arrest: “A Texas woman was ordered detained Wednesday after she was arrested and charged with threatening the federal judge presiding over former President Donald Trump’s election case in Washington, D.C.”
* The fact that we knew this would happen doesn’t make it any less awful: “Transgender youth in North Carolina lost access Wednesday to gender-affirming treatments after the Republican-led General Assembly overrode the Democratic governor’s vetoes of that legislation and other bills touching on gender in sports and LGBTQ+ instruction in the classroom.”
* The latest Jan. 6 conviction: “A Florida man who stole a riot shield and used it help push against officers in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was sentenced Wednesday to a year and a half in prison, prosecutors said.”
* It’s interesting just how little turnover there’s been in key White House positions: “The top White House lawyer will leave next month after a nearly three-year run helping President Joe Biden weigh legal considerations as he implemented his pandemic response, battled Republican investigations and crafted major legislation.”
* All is not well at the platform formerly known as Twitter: “At least two brands have said they will suspend advertising on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, after their ads and those of other companies were run on an account promoting fascism. The issue came less than a week after X CEO Linda Yaccarino publicly affirmed the company’s commitment to brand safety for advertisers.”
See you tomorrow.