10 things you need to know today: August 10, 2023

1. Dozens die in Hawaii wildfires

Unprecedented wildfires across Hawaii's Big Island and Maui have overwhelmed hospitals with burn patients and killed at least 36 people. Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) said Wednesday the historic tourist town of Lahaina is "almost totally burnt to the ground." Boats were burning in the town's harbor. "It looks like something out of a movie, a war movie," resident Chrissy Lovitt told Hawaii News Now. The blazes, partly fueled by strong winds from passing Hurricane Dora, destroyed homes and knocked out power to thousands of people. Some people had to flee into the ocean to escape the flames. Local officials urged people to stay away from Lahaina. "This is not a safe place to be," said Hawaii Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke.

Honolulu Star-Advertiser BBC News

2. Special counsel had warrant to search Trump Twitter account

Prosecutors in special counsel Jack Smith's office earlier this year obtained a warrant to search former President Donald Trump's long-dormant Twitter account as part of their investigation into Trump's efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss, according to court documents unsealed Wednesday. Twitter, now known as X, initially resisted but complied with the Jan. 17 search warrant several days after a deadline. A federal judge found the company, purchased by billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk several months earlier, in contempt and imposed a $350,000 fine, the documents said. It was not immediately clear what Smith's office was looking for in Trump's account, although Trump's indictment last week included numerous references to his tweets.

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Politico The New York Times

3. DeSantis suspends a 2nd elected Florida prosecutor

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) announced Wednesday he was suspending Orange-Osceola State Attorney Monique Worrell, an elected central Florida prosecutor he accused of failing to pursue appropriate charges in serious cases. "Prosecutors have a duty to faithfully enforce the law," DeSantis said. "One's political agenda cannot trump this solemn duty." Worrell, a Black Democrat, is the second locally elected Democratic state attorney DeSantis has removed from office. He suspended Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren last year over what DeSantis deemed his progressive politics. Worrell vowed to fight the move in court and continue her reelection campaign. "I am your duly elected state attorney, and nothing done by a weak dictator can change that," she said.

Orlando Sentinel

4. Ecuador anti-corruption presidential candidate assassinated

Ecuador presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, known for speaking out about corruption and ties between organized crime and government officials, was shot dead after leaving a political rally Wednesday evening in Quito, the capital. President Guillermo Lasso blamed "organized crime" and assured the South American country "this crime will not go unpunished." Police detained six suspects after a series of raids in Quito. One suspect was wounded in a shootout and died, according to Ecuador's attorney general's office. Villavicencio had reported receiving death threats from affiliates of Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel and other criminal groups. In his last speech, he vowed to lock up Ecuador's "thieves."

The Associated Press

5. Biden signs order banning some China technology investment

President Biden on Wednesday signed an executive order proposing new restrictions on investment and the transfer of expertise in sensitive high-tech industries in China that could be used to benefit the country's military. The Biden administration said the order aimed at protecting national security by prohibiting venture capital and private equity firms from investing in Chinese companies working on advanced semiconductors, quantum computers and advanced artificial intelligence applications. The order comes at a tense moment in U.S.-China relations. China said it was part of an ongoing push by Washington to contain its rise, accusing the United States of trying to "politicize and weaponize trade."

The Washington Post The New York Times

6. Utah man suspected of threatening Biden killed as FBI serves warrants

A Utah man, identified as Craig Robertson, who was under investigation for alleged threats against President Biden and other top Democrats was fatally shot as the FBI tried to execute warrants at his house on Wednesday. The FBI started investigating Robertson in April and notified the Secret Service in June. The man targeted in the investigation allegedly made threatening posts online, including plans to clean "the dust off the M24 sniper rifle" when Biden visits Utah this week. Investigators deemed the threats to be "credible," one official told ABC News. The shooting occurred when agents tried to serve arrest and search warrants at Robertson's Provo home.

The Salt Lake Tribune ABC News

7. Pakistan parliament dissolved days after former PM Imran Khan's arrest

Pakistan President Arif Alvi on Wednesday dissolved the country's parliament at the urging of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, days before the current legislative term was set to expire on Saturday. The dissolution, which set up new elections, came after Sharif's predecessor, Imran Khan, was detained and banned from holding public office for five years. Khan had been a top potential contender before a court sentenced him to three years in prison for corruption. Khan adviser Sayed Zulkifar Bukhari tweeted that the electoral commission's decision to bar Khan, who was arrested Saturday, from seeking office was "premature," and that the "government is trying to eliminate Khan from the political landscape" with a barrage of "frivolous" cases.

The Washington Post

8. US nurse and her child released 2 weeks after kidnapping in Haiti

American nurse Alix Dorsainvil and her child have been released nearly two weeks after they were kidnapped from a clinic in Haiti, the nonprofit group Dorsainvil was working with, El Roi Haiti, announced in a statement Wednesday. "It is with a heart of gratitude and immense joy that we at El Roi Haiti confirm the safe release of our staff member and friend, Alix Dorsainvil and her child who were held hostage," the group said in a message on its website. Dorsainvil is a community health nurse. Her husband, Sandro Dorsainvil, is El Roi Haiti's founder and director. Haiti has faced an explosion of kidnappings by gangs that now control nearly all of the Caribbean nation's capital, Port-au-Prince.

NBC News

9. Disney raises prices as streaming losses continue

Walt Disney Co. on Wednesday reported that its streaming losses narrowed to $512 million in the most recent quarter, as Disney+ lost about 11.7 million subscribers worldwide, leaving it with 146.1 million. Disney has now lost more than $11 billion on streaming since 2019, when it introduced Disney+. CEO Bob Iger is shifting the entertainment giant's strategy to make streaming profitable, steering away from the expensive marketing campaigns necessary to sign up more paying customers and instead working on getting more money from existing Disney+ and Hulu subscribers. Disney hiked the price for ad-free Disney+ access to $11 a month in December, up from $8. The company is raising the price of the ad-free version again, to $14 per month.

The New York Times Bloomberg

10. The Band's Robbie Robertson dies at 80

Robbie Robertson, lead guitarist and chief songwriter for The Band, died Wednesday in Los Angeles after a long illness. He was 80. The Band, a Canadian-American group prominent in the 1970s, "helped inspire the genre that came to be known as Americana," according to The New York Times. Robertson's best-known songs for The Band include classics "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," "The Weight," and "Up on Cripple Creek." He also famously collaborated with Bob Dylan. "I wanted to write music that felt like it could've been written 50 years ago, tomorrow, yesterday — that had this lost-in-time quality," Robertson once said. Director Martin Scorcese captured The Band's 1976 farewell concert "The Last Waltz" on film, and Robertson later composed music for many Scorcese films.

Variety The New York Times