10 things you need to know today: August 21, 2023

1. Bidens to meet Maui wildfire victims as frustrations mount

President Biden and first lady Jill Biden are scheduled to meet on Monday with survivors of Maui's deadly wildfires and visit what people forced to flee their homes call "ground zero," the historic town of Lahaina that was destroyed by a fast-spreading Aug. 8 blaze. Biden is expected to promise ongoing commitment from the federal government to help victims. The president's visit to Hawaii comes as residents' frustrations grow. The Federal Emergency Management Agency faces complaints from some survivors applying for aid, especially evacuees whose government IDs were burned in the fire. The death toll from the fires, possibly started by electric-utility equipment and made worse by climate change, remained at 114, but authorities warned it will likely rise.

Honolulu Star-Advertiser Politico

2. Tropical Storm Hilary, earthquake hit California

Tropical Storm Hilary, which was downgraded from a hurricane on Sunday, made landfall in Mexico's Baja California peninsula and pushed into Southern California, knocking down trees and causing flooding and mudslides. As the storm hit, a magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck the Ojai, California, area on Sunday afternoon. "We are in the middle of the first tropical storm since 1939, and we just had an earthquake," Ventura County Fire communications director Scott Thomsen told the Los Angeles Times. Forecasters warned that Hilary's heavy rains could hit California and other parts of the Southwest with "catastrophic and life-threatening flooding" in deserts and mountains, with Death Valley and Morongo Basin expected to be hit hard. Some areas could get a year's worth of rain in 24 hours.

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Los Angeles Times The Washington Post

3. Netherlands, Denmark pledge to send Ukraine F-16 fighter jets

The Netherlands and Denmark said Sunday they will send Ukraine F-16 fighter jets it has long requested to boost its counteroffensive, which has progressed slowly partly due to Russia's air superiority. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the news "historic," saying it was the "most important" support it could get as it tries to reclaim land Russia has seized since invading last year. In a joint press conference with Zelenskyy, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said the Netherlands would deliver the U.S.-made fighter planes once "the conditions for such a transfer have been met." Denmark separately confirmed it had agreed to provide Ukraine with 19 F-16s. Rutte did not pledge an exact number, but Zelenskyy said on social media that Ukraine would get 42 F-16s.

CNN The Associated Press

4. Trump confirms he will skip GOP debate

Former President Donald Trump confirmed on Sunday that he will not participate in the first Republican primary debate, scheduled for Wednesday. Trump pointed to his huge lead in the polls, arguing there was no need to face off against candidates with far less support. "The public knows who I am & what a successful presidency I had," Trump said on Truth Social. "I WILL THEREFORE NOT BE DOING THE DEBATES!" Other candidates, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who's in second place despite falling poll numbers, are hoping to gain ground in the debate. Trump had long hinted he would skip the Milwaukee face-off. He is expected to do something to compete for attention with the debate.

USA Today

5. Anti-corruption candidate wins Guatemala presidential election

Anti-corruption candidate Bernardo Arévalo, a sociologist who unexpectedly earned a slot in Guatemala's presidential runoff, won the Central American nation's presidential vote Sunday in a landslide over former first lady Sandra Torres. With more than 98% of the ballots counted, Arévalo had 58% to Torres' 36%. "What the people are shouting at us is: 'Enough of so much corruption,'" Arévalo told reporters. President Alejandro Giammattei, who was barred from seeking re-election, congratulated Arévalo and invited him to begin an orderly transition of power as soon as the vote is certified. Arévalo, 64, is the son of former President Juan José Arévalo, the country's first democratically elected leader.

CNN

6. Ecuador presidential election heads to October runoff

Luisa González, an establishment leftist allied with socialist former President Rafael Correa, led Ecuador's Sunday presidential election with 33% of the vote. She will compete in an October runoff against unexpected second-place candidate Daniel Noboa, a political outsider who had polled in single digits just weeks ago but received 24% of the vote Sunday, with 84% of the ballots counted. Polls had predicted that González would advance to a second round against one of two right-leaning candidates promising tough policies to address drug violence in the South American nation. But Noboa surged, as did journalist Christian Zurita, who replaced assassinated anti-corruption candidate Fernando Villavicencio and finished in third place.

The New York Times The Washington Post

7. GOP senator says Trump should drop out

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union" that former President Donald Trump should drop out of the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. Cassidy, one of seven Senate Republicans who voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial, said the federal criminal case against Trump for allegedly mishandling classified documents is "almost a slam dunk." Cassidy said that Trump, if convicted, could not beat President Biden in the general election. "We may have a candidate for president who has been convicted of a crime," Cassidy said. "I think Joe Biden needs to be replaced but I don't think Americans will vote for someone who's been convicted."

Reuters

8. Old Dominion outbids Estes for bankrupt Yellow's trucking terminals

Old Dominion Freight Line outbid rival Estes Express Lines with a $1.5 billion offer for bankrupt trucker Yellow's extensive North American real-estate holdings, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday. Estes had bid $1.3 billion. The strong interest from multiple parties indicated that there could be a hot bankruptcy court–supervised auction for Yellow's network of 169 truck terminals, potentially giving Yellow more money than it needs to cover its debts. Yellow closed this summer after 99 years in business, but its terminals close to major cities have tremendous value to trucking and logistics companies competing to speed up delivers to U.S. homes.

The Wall Street Journal

9. California store owner killed after dispute over Pride flag

California business owner Lara Ann Carleton, 66, died over the weekend in a shooting after a dispute over an LGBTQ Pride flag outside her store, The Associated Press reported Sunday. The San Bernardino County sheriff's office said Carleton was shot after an armed suspect "made several disparaging remarks about a rainbow flag that stood outside" her clothing store. The attacker fled. Deputies shot and killed an unidentified suspect shortly after Carleton was killed. Carleton owned and ran the Mag.Pi clothing store in Cedar Glen, about 60 miles east of downtown Los Angeles in the San Bernardino Mountains. She is survived by her husband and a blended family of nine children. Several rainbow Pride flags have been destroyed in the area in recent years.

The Associated Press

10. 'Blue Beetle' knocks 'Barbie' out of top spot at domestic box office

"Blue Beetle" ousted "Barbie" from the top spot at the domestic box office despite a weaker-than-expected debut. The new DC superhero adventure brought in $25.4 million in North America and another $18 million in 63 markets overseas, one of the lowest-grossing openings for a DC film. "After a dozen nearly flawless years, the [comic book] genre has performed unevenly during the last three-and-a-half years," said David A. Gross of movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. The Greta Gerwig fantasy-comedy "Barbie" was No. 2 after four straight weeks at No. 1, with $21.5 million in domestic ticket sales, putting it a few million away from surpassing Universal's animated "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" ($574 million) as the biggest domestic release of 2023.

Variety