Biden reflects on deadly Maui wildfire, saying community shows ‘strength and resilience’ a year later
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(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden penned a letter to commemorate one year since the fatal fires in Maui.
In the letter, he reflected on the devastation he saw in his visit to the island and how the flames impacted the communities in Lahaina and Kula.
“We said a silent prayer before your beloved banyan tree, which had been charred by the flames, but was still clinging to life. That sacred tree still stands today. Its new growth reflects the strength and resilience of your community,” Biden wrote in the letter to the people of Maui.
A devastating wildfire tore through the Hawaii island of Maui on Aug. 8, 2023, killing dozens of people and destroying the town of Lahaina. In the letter, Biden remembered the “tremendous loss and devastation” and also honored the “courage and kindness” that existed in the “darkest of moments.”
Biden pointed to the work of first responders and the way that neighbors helped and supported each other in those harrowing days.
“We continue to hold the people of Maui in our hearts and prayers,” Biden said in the letter.
In addition, the White House is touting their efforts to continue to pursue “a coordinated and comprehensive Federal response” and help the long-term recovery of the community. The administration pointed to the “nearly $3 billion in Federal support to response, recovery, and rebuilding efforts.”
(REDLANDS, Calif.) — Police have arrested a man in connection with the search for a couple missing from a nudist community in California.
Michael Sparks, 62, was arrested for murder late Thursday, days after the couple were reported missing, according to the Redlands Police Department. Police had been trying to locate Sparks on Thursday, breaching a home and conducting a search using remote video equipment to find him.
Sparks was not found at the home, but he was the same person who was being sought in the search, police said.
He has been booked murder at West Valley Detention Center.
Stephanie Menard, 73, and Daniel Menard, 79, were reported missing on Sunday, according to police. During a press briefing on Thursday, the Redlands Police Department said foul play was suspected after being tipped off by a source in the couple’s neighborhood.
The location of the couple and their dog remains unknown, police said.
The couple was last seen at their residence on Olive Dell Ranch — a family nudist resort — at around 10 a.m. local time on Saturday. Their unlocked vehicle was found down the road from the residence that day, according to police.
Stephanie Menard’s purse was found inside their residence along with both of their cellphones, according to police.
The couple’s dog, a white Shih Tzu named Cuddles, was also missing.
(NEW YORK) — The Department of Homeland Security’s internal watchdog says it has uncovered an “urgent issue” with how immigration officials handle cases involving unaccompanied migrant children, warning in a new report that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency has been unable to keep track of all unaccompanied minors released from government custody.
The interim report, sent to Congress on Tuesday and obtained by ABC News, said that — in the past five years — more than 32,000 unaccompanied migrant children failed to appear for their immigration court hearings, and ICE was “not able to account” for all of their locations.
“Without an ability to monitor the location and status of [unaccompanied migrant children], ICE has no assurance [they] are safe from trafficking, exploitation, or forced labor,” Inspector General Joseph Cuffari wrote in his interim report.
He urged ICE to “take immediate action to ensure the safety of [unaccompanied children] residing in the United States.”
Cuffari’s report is part of a broader audit of ICE’s ability to track unaccompanied migrant children who have been released or transferred from U.S. custody after entering the country.
According to the interim report, immigration officials transferred more than 448,000 unaccompanied migrant children from 2019 to 2023, spanning both the Trump and Biden administrations. After interviewing more than 100 officials and visiting ten ICE field offices, the inspector general found that immigration officials “cannot always monitor the location and status of unaccompanied migrant children who are released … and [then] did not appear as scheduled in immigration court.”
When unaccompanied migrant children do not show up to court, federal judges will often issue several continuances — to postpone the hearings for months — until they are left with no choice but to issue deportation orders.
Earlier this year, ABC News attended several hearings at immigration court in Hyattsville, Maryland, where federal judges were forced to issue removal orders for unaccompanied migrant children who did not appear for their scheduled hearings. And for those who do appear, only 56% are represented by counsel, according to the Department of Justice.
ABC News previously reported that tens of thousands of unaccompanied young migrants are representing themselves before federal immigration judges due to a litany of issues crippling the court system.
In his interim report, Cuffari said that as of May 2024, more than 291,000 unaccompanied children had not been placed into removal proceedings because ICE had not served them notices to appear or scheduled a court date for them. Accordingly, the number of unaccompanied children who failed to appear for their court dates “may have been much larger” than 32,000 had ICE issued notices or scheduled court dates for those 291,000 children.
“Immigration court hearings are often ICE’s only opportunity to observe and screen [children] for trafficking indicators or other safety concerns,” the interim report said.
So, according to the report, when ICE fails to service notices to appear, or schedule court dates, that “reduces opportunities to verify their safety.”
The report cited a number of key challenges for ICE, noting that, among other issues, “ICE still lacks adequate staffing, which can limit officers’ time and ability to check the location or immigration case status of migrants.”
“Resource constraints also impact [their] ability to issue [notices] to all [unaccompanied children] after their release from HHS’ custody,” the report said.
The report also said that ICE is burdened by “manual, multi-step processes to share information on [children] who do not appear in court.”
The watchdog suggested that Homeland Security officials “develop and implement an automated system to document court appearances and maintain address information of unaccompanied migrant children.”
Agency officials agreed with the watchdog’s recommendation to incorporate an automated tracking mechanism, according to a brief response included with the 18-page interim report. But they also suggested that the assessments in the watchdog’s interim report failed to articulate some structural challenges that complicate their ability to track migrant children and “therefore lead to misunderstandings about the process.”
(HOUSTON) — A driver could face a possible murder charge after he allegedly struck and killed an innocent bystander on a sidewalk in Houston early Sunday while attempting to mow down his domestic partner, according to police.
The incident unfolded around 3 a.m. after patrol officers in the city’s Midtown area responded to what they initially thought was a gunshot and found the mortally injured victim on the sidewalk, Robert Ementich, a spokesperson for the Houston Police Department, said during a news conference.
“It’s my understanding that the victim, the decedent, was actually the manager of one of the nightclubs and was preparing to go home,” Ementich said.
Witnesses, including the alleged intended target, told police the suspect and his domestic partner were involved in an altercation at a nightclub and left the establishment, Ementich said.
“Upon leaving the establishment, the male got into the vehicle and started driving around and struck multiple vehicles,” Ementich said.
Ementich said the driver’s domestic partner alleged to investigators that the suspect, whose name was not immediately released, intended to strike her with the vehicle when he hit the innocent bystander.
“She was able to get out of the way,” Ementich said of the suspect’s companion. “Unfortunately, an innocent bystander who was walking on the sidewalk was struck by the suspect’s vehicle.”
Ementich said the Houston Fire Department administered first aid, but the woman was pronounced dead at the scene.
The name of the woman killed was being withheld by police pending an autopsy and notification of her relatives.
Ementich said it was not immediately clear if the suspect’s domestic partner was his wife or girlfriend.
With help from witnesses, police officers located the suspect several blocks away and took him into custody, Ementich said.
Ementich said police and prosecutors are looking into possibly filing a murder charge against the suspect, alleging it was an “intentional act” to try to hit his partner.
“It’s kind of like if he were to pull out a gun and try shooting his wife and missed. It was still his intention to use a deadly weapon,” Ementich said. “Instead of a 160-grain bullet, he used a 4,000-pound motor vehicle as his weapon of choice.”
