REBECCA BOONE

Daniel Skousen vacuums his home, damaged by August's wildfire, on Friday, Nov. 3, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. Skousen stated he will not deep clean his home until the EPA removes all debris from the burnt house adjacent to his. (AP Photo/Mengshin Lin)

Maui residents wonder if their burned town can be made safe. The answer? No one knows

The rubble left behind includes electrical cables, plastic pipes and vehicle tires that emit dangerous dioxins when burned; lead from melted vehicles or old house paint; and arsenic-laden ash.

Federal judge puts Idaho’s ‘abortion trafficking’ law on hold during lawsuit

A federal judge has temporarily blocked Idaho’s “abortion trafficking” law from being enforced while a lawsuit challenging its constitutionality is underway. U.S.

FILE - Courtroom notes showing that a Washington County, Ore., judge threatened to hold Oregon Public Defense Services in contempt of court for not providing a public defender to a criminal defendant are seen in Portland, May 4, 2022. A federal judge on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023, has ordered Oregon counties to release criminal defendants from jail if they aren't appointed an attorney within a week of their first court appearance. Oregon is one of many states that have struggled to ensure their public defense systems meet the requirements of the U.S. Constitution's Sixth Amendment. (AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus, File)

Oregon must get criminal defendants attorneys within 7 days or release them from jail, judge says

A federal judge has ordered Oregon counties to release criminal defendants from jail if they aren’t appointed an attorney within a week of their first court appearance.

This image provided by Maui Police Department shows police body camera footage taken the day a wildfire tore through Lahaina town on Aug. 8, 2023. Maui police held a news conference on Monday, Oct. 30, 2023 to show 16 minutes of body camera footage taken the day a wildfire tore through Lahaina town. (Maui Police Department via AP)

Bodycam video shows police saving residents from Maui wildfire, keeping people out of burn zone

Police who frantically tried to save people from the wildfire that devastated the historic Maui town of Lahaina this summer also faced another challenge: keeping people from heading back toward the flames.

Law enforcement officers depart a scene in an armored vehicle after investigating a location, in Bowdoin, Maine, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023. Residents have been ordered to shelter in place as police continue to search for the suspect of Wednesday's mass shootings. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Search for Maine shooting suspect leveraged old-fashioned footwork and new technology

Hundreds of law enforcement officers descended on southern Maine this week in search of the sole suspect in two separate shootings.

FILE - Lori Vallow Daybell sits during her sentencing hearing at the Fremont County Courthouse in St. Anthony, Idaho, July 31, 2023. On Wednesday, Oct., 25, 2023, an extradition warrant signed by Idaho Gov. Brad Little was delivered to other state officials, allowing Arizona officials to temporarily take custody of Daybell so she can face charges of conspiring to kill her estranged husband as well as her niece's ex-husband. (Tony Blakeslee EastIdahoNews.com via AP, Pool, File)

Mom convicted of killing kids in Idaho will be sent to Arizona to face murder conspiracy charges

A woman sentenced to life in prison in Idaho in the murders of her two kids and another woman will be taken to Arizona to face additional charges. Idaho Gov.

FILE - The hall of historic Waiola Church in Lahaina and nearby Lahaina Hongwanji Mission are engulfed in flames along Wainee Street on Aug. 8, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. Communities still reeling from climate-fueled storms and other natural disasters, from the wildfires in Maui to severe flooding in New England, fear a federal government shutdown will delay needed disaster relief.(Matthew Thayer/The Maui News via AP, File)

AP Exclusive: 911 calls from deadly Lahaina wildfire reveal terror and panic in the rush to escape

Hawaii’s Maui County has released audio of 911 calls made during a deadly August wildfire in response to a public records request from The Associated Press.

AP Exclusive: 911 calls from deadly Lahaina wildfire reveal terror and panic in the rush to escape

Maui County has released audio of 911 calls from a deadly August wildfire in response to a public record request from The Associated Press.

Idaho’s longest-serving death row inmate is scheduled for a November execution by lethal injection

An Idaho judge has issued a death warrant for the state’s longest-serving death row inmate, scheduling his execution for next month.

Shelee Kimura, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hawaiian Electric, appears before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on Capitol Hill, Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Many questions but few answers in congressional hearing on Maui’s wildfire and electric provider

Lawmakers probing the cause of last month’s deadly Maui wildfire did not get many answers during Thursday’s congressional hearing on the role the electrical grid played in the disaster.

An Idaho man has measles. Health officials are trying to see if the contagious disease has spread.

An Idaho man has contracted measles, and health officials are working to contact anyone who may have been exposed to the highly contagious disease.

FILE - destroyed homes are visible in the aftermath of a devastating wildfire in Lahaina, Hawaii, Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Monday, Sept. 11, that there have been 23 weather extreme events in America that cost at least $1 billion this year through August, eclipsing the year-long record total of 22 set in 2020. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

Hawaii officials say DNA tests drop Maui fire death count to 97

Authorities in Hawaii have adjusted the number of deaths from the deadly Maui wildfire down to at least 97 people.

Bryan Kohberger, right, who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022, sits with Anne Taylor, left, one of his attorneys, during a hearing in Latah County District Court, Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, Pool)

Bryan Kohberger, charged in the slayings of 4 Idaho college students, wants cameras out of courtroom

Attorneys for a man accused of stabbing four University of Idaho students to death last year want cameras banned from the courtroom during his trial.

A missing person flyer for Joseph "Lomsey" Lara is posted on the door of a business in a shopping mall in Lahaina, Hawaii, Monday, Aug. 21, 2023. Wildfires devastated parts of the Hawaiian island of Maui earlier this month. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

After Maui officials named 388 people unaccounted for in fires, many called to say they’re OK

Within a day of Maui County releasing 388 names of people unaccounted for following the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century, more than 100 of them or their relatives have come forward to say they’re safe.

FILE - In this photo provided by Tiffany Kidder Winn, a man walks past wildfire damage, Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Tiffany Kidder Winn via AP, File)

In deadly Maui fires, many had no warning and no way out. Those who dodged a barricade survived

As flames tore through a West Maui neighborhood, fleeing residents headed for the only paved road out of town in a dash for safety.

EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - The carcass of a dog lies next to burned-out vehicles on Front Street in Lahaina, Hawaii on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

In deadly Maui wildfires, communication failed. Chaos overtook Lahaina along with the flames

In the hours before a wildfire engulfed the town of Lahaina, Maui County officials failed to activate sirens that would have warned the entire population of the approaching flames and instead relied on a series of sometimes confusing social media posts that reached a much smaller audience.

FILE - An attendee at Planned Parenthood's Bans Off Our Bodies rally for abortion rights holds a sign reading outside of the Idaho Statehouse in downtown Boise, Idaho, on May 14, 2022. Six university professors and two teachers’ unions are suing Idaho over a law that they say violates their First Amendment rights by criminalizing teaching and classroom discussion about pro-abortion viewpoints. (Sarah A. Miller/Idaho Statesman via AP, File)

College professors sue Idaho over a law that they say criminalizes classroom discussions on abortion

Six university professors and two teachers’ unions are suing Idaho over a law that they say violates their First Amendment rights by criminalizing teaching about pro-abortion viewpoints.

FILE - Law enforcement officers stand Northside Hospital Midtown medical office building, where a man opened fire in the medical center waiting room, killing one woman and wounding four, on May 3, 2023, in Atlanta. Data shows American health care workers now suffer more nonfatal injuries from workplace violence than workers in any other profession, including law enforcement. (Arvin Temkar/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Attacks at US medical centers show why health care is one of the nation’s most violent fields

Shootings and other attacks are increasing at hospitals across the US, contributing to health care becoming one of the nation’s most violent fields.

FILE - Bryan Kohberger enters the courtroom for his arraignment hearing in Latah County District Court, May 22, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho. On Wednesday, Aug. 2, attorneys for Kohberger, accused of stabbing four University of Idaho students to death last year, said he was on a long drive by himself around the time of the slayings. (Zach Wilkinson/The Moscow-Pullman Daily News via AP, Pool, File)

Suspect in Idaho student stabbings says he was out for a solo drive around the time of the slayings

Attorneys for the man accused of stabbing four University of Idaho students to death last year say he was on a long drive by himself around the time of the slayings.

FILE - "My body, my choice!" resonates from protesters on the front lawn of the Guam Congress Building in Hagåtña during a protest as they voiced their concerns against the Guam Heartbeat Act of 2022 on April 27, 2022. A federal appeals court says women seeking medication abortions on the U.S. Territory of Guam must first have an in-person consultation with a doctor even though the nearest physician willing to prescribe the medication is 3,800 miles (6,100 kilometers) and an 8-hour flight away. (Rick Cruz/The Pacific Daily via AP, File)

A federal appeals court just made medication abortions harder to get in Guam

A federal appeals court has ruled that people seeking medication abortions on the U.S. Territory of Guam must first meet for an in-person consultation with a doctor.

Lori Vallow Daybell sits during her sentencing hearing at the Fremont County Courthouse in St. Anthony, Idaho, Monday, July 31, 2023. Idaho mother Vallow Daybell has been sentenced to life in prison without parole Monday in the murders of her two youngest children and a romantic rival in a case that included bizarre claims that her son and daughter were zombies and that she was a goddess sent to usher in the Biblical apocalypse. (Tony Blakeslee/EastIdahoNews.com via AP, Pool)

Idaho mom Lori Vallow Daybell sentenced in deaths of 2 children and her romantic rival

Idaho mother Lori Vallow Daybell has been sentenced to life in prison without parole Monday in the murders of her two youngest children and a romantic rival.

FILE -People gather in support of transgender youth during a rally at the Utah State Capitol Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023, in Salt Lake City. New laws targeting LGBTQ+ people are proliferating in GOP-led states, but often absent from policy decisions is a clear understanding of how many people will be directly affected. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer,File)

How many transgender and intersex people live in the US? Anti-LGBTQ+ laws will impact millions

New laws targeting LGBTQ+ people are proliferating in GOP-led states, but the conversations often lack a clear understanding of how many people will be directly affected.

In this undated photo provided by Diana Allen is her daughter, Charity Perry, after she won an award for spiciest chili in a competition. Perry's body was found on April 24, 2023, near a state park alongside the Columbia River, east of Portland, Oregon. Prosecutors said Monday, July 17, 2023, that investigators have linked her case and the cases of three other women found dead and that a person of interest has been identified. (Diana Allen via AP)

A ‘person of interest’ is being held in Oregon deaths of 4 women after governor revokes commutation

A man considered a person of interest in the deaths of four women whose bodies were found in northwestern Oregon is being held in a state prison after Gov.

FILE - A Portland police vehicle is parked at a crime scene in Portland, Ore., on March 12, 2014. Authorities in Oregon say the deaths of four women whose bodies were found over three months starting in February 2023, with the last one found in May, are linked and that at least one person of interest has been identified. In Portland, the Multnomah County District Attorney's office says no charges have been filed against anyone but added that the community is not currently in any danger. (Mike Zacchino/The Oregonian via AP, File)

Deaths of four Oregon women over three months are linked, authorities say, reversing earlier call

Authorities in Oregon say the deaths of four women whose bodies were found over three months are linked and that at least one person of interest has been identified.

Idaho sued over law making it a crime to help minors get abortions without parental consent

Two advocacy groups and an attorney who works with sexual assault victims are suing Idaho over a new law that makes it a felony to help minors get an abortion without their parents’ consent.

FILE - Supporters wave flags as they wait for the motorcade of former President Donald Trump to arrive at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Fla., March 25, 2023. Millions of Americans will attend parades, fireworks, barbecues and other Independence Day events on Tuesday, celebrating the courage and sacrifices of the nation’s 18th century patriots who fought for the nation’s independence from England and what they considered an unjust government. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

In a polarized US, how to define a patriot increasingly depends on who’s being asked

Millions of Americans will attend parades, fireworks, barbecues and other Independence Day events, celebrating the courage and sacrifices of the nation’s 18th century patriots, but that is only one version of a “patriot.”

Kirby Evers, a 31-year-old bisexual Lawrence, Kan., resident, displays the red flag of the Democratic Socialists of America and a Pride flag during a rally outside the Kansas Statehouse in favor of transgender rights, Friday, June 30, 2023, in Topeka, Kan. Evers said he believes a U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing a Christian graphic artist to refuse to work with same-sex couples will increase discrimination against LGBTQ people. (AP Photo/John Hanna)

Wider than websites? LGBTQ+ advocates fear broader discrimination after Supreme Court ruling

A new U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowing a Colorado Christian graphic artist to refuse to work on wedding websites for same-sex couples has LGBTQ+ people across the country worried about broader consequences.

FILE - Bryan Kohberger enters the courtroom for his arraignment hearing in Latah County District Court, May 22, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho. Prosecutors say they are seeking the death penalty against Kohberger, the man accused of stabbing four University of Idaho students to death in November 2022. Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson filed the notice of his intent to seek the death penalty in court on Monday, June 26. (Zach Wilkinson/The Moscow-Pullman Daily News via AP, Pool, File)

Prosecutors seek the death penalty against man accused of slaying of 4 University of Idaho students

Prosecutors say they are seeking the death penalty against a man accused of stabbing four University of Idaho students to death late last year.

FILE - Bryan Kohberger, who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students in Nov. 2022, appears at a hearing in Latah County District Court, on Jan. 5, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho. An Idaho judge has denied a request from more than two dozen news organizations to lift a gag order in the criminal case of a man accused of stabbing four University of Idaho students to death. The judge did, however, significantly narrow the gag order in response to the news organizations’ concerns. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, Pool, File)

Judge agrees to narrow but not lift gag order in University of Idaho student slayings case

An Idaho judge has denied a request from roughly two dozen news organizations to lift a gag order in the criminal case of a man accused of stabbing four University of Idaho students to death.

Majorjon Kaylor, 31, right, sits next to defense attorney Lisa Chesebro in a Wallace, Idaho, courtroom on Tuesday, June 20, 2023, during his first appearance on four murder charges. Prosecutors say Kaylor shot and killed his neighbors, including a child, Sunday evening. Idaho State Police have released few details, but said the shooting occurred after a "dispute between neighbors." (Josh McDonald/Shoshone News-Press via AP)

Idaho prosecutors won’t seek the death penalty for man accused of killing his neighbors

Idaho prosecutors say they will not seek the death penalty against a man charged with killing a neighboring family, including two teenagers.