Start your week smart: Maui wildfires, Trump investigations, Hunter Biden, Sam Bankman-Fried, boat dock brawl

By CNN

Published August 11, 2023 1:02 PM

CNN

By Andrew Torgan and Daniel Wine, CNN

(CNN) — College campuses across the country will be filling up in the coming weeks as the fall semester gets underway. It can be a stressful time for students learning to balance their course loads with extracurricular activities — leading some to take ill-advised shortcuts, like letting ChatGPT write a few essays. But be warned: professors can tell when you’re cheating by looking for these dead giveaways.

Here’s what else you need to know to Start Your Week Smart.

The weekend that was

• The death toll from the Maui wildfires has climbed to 93, as authorities work to identify victims of the deadliest US wildfire in more than 100 years. Hawaii has a robust emergency siren warning system, but it sat silent as people fled for their lives.

• Atlanta-area prosecutors investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia are in possession of text messages and emails directly connecting members of Donald Trump’s legal team to the early January 2021 voting system breach in Coffee County, sources tell CNN.

• The Trump-appointed US attorney who is investigating Hunter Biden has been given special counsel status after plea talks between the Justice Department and the president’s son fell apart. A trial is now likely.

• A federal judge revoked bail for FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried, citing probable cause that the accused crypto fraudster attempted to tamper with witnesses. His trial is scheduled for October.

• Five people have now been charged in the brawl along the Montgomery, Alabama, riverfront, police said. The latest to be arrested was the man seen swinging a chair in the widely circulated video of the fight.

The week ahead

Monday
We begin the week on indictment watch. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is expected to seek more than a dozen indictments this week when she presents her case to a grand jury regarding efforts by former President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia, sources familiar with the matter told CNN. Willis has been eyeing conspiracy and racketeering charges, which would allow her to bring a case against multiple defendants. Her wide-ranging criminal probe focuses on efforts to pressure election officials, the plot to put forward fake electors and a voting systems breach in rural Georgia. Trump acolytes who took part in each of those schemes believe they will face charges this week, people familiar with their thinking said. Trump also believes he will be charged in the case, CNN has reported.

Monday also marks the 78th anniversary of the end of World War II with the surrender of Japan in 1945. And in one (and only one) state in the US, It’s an official holiday: Victory Day. Rhode Island has celebrated this controversial commemoration on the second Monday in August since 1948, and this year it happens to fall on the actual date.

Tuesday
Carlos De Oliveira, the property manager at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, is scheduled to be arraigned in the classified documents case. His original arraignment last week was postponed because he did not have a Florida lawyer at the time. De Oliveira and Trump aide Walt Nauta have been charged with multiple offenses related to Trump’s alleged unlawful retention of documents after leaving office, including classified material.

Wednesday
The Federal Reserve will release the minutes from its July meeting, when policymakers opted to raise interest rates to their highest level in 22 years. Those minutes will likely provide some insight into whether the central bank will hike rates again next month. The Fed has raised rates 11 times since it began its inflation fight in March 2022.

Friday
President Biden will host Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol at Camp David as part of his effort to bring the key Asian allies closer. It will be the first visit to Camp David by a foreign leader since Biden took office and the first since 2015, when former President Barack Obama was in office. National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby said the summit would reaffirm the “ironclad alliances between the United States and Japan, the United States and the Republic of Korea, and the blossoming of the relationship between Japan and the ROK under the extraordinary leadership of both President Yoon and Prime Minister Kishida.” The summit also will address the continued threat posed by North Korea.

One Thing: Summer of strikes
In this week’s One Thing podcast, CNN business and politics correspondent Vanessa Yurkevich explains why the Hollywood writers’ and actors’ strikes could be just the beginning of a tumultuous moment for organized labor in the US. Listen for more.

Photos of the week

Check out more images from the week that was, curated by CNN Photos.

What’s happening in entertainment

In theaters
DC’s “Blue Beetle” — the first superhero movie directed by, written by and starring Latinos — arrives Friday. It features Xolo Maridueña as Jaime Reyes, who becomes the titular character after an ancient relic known as “the Scarab” chooses him to be its host, giving him superhuman powers much to the astonishment of him and his tight-knit family. (“Blue Beetle” is from Warner Bros. Pictures, which, like CNN, is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.)

“Strays” features the voices of Will Ferrell and Jamie Foxx as dogs in this R-rated comedy. The heavily bleeped trailer will tell you all you need to know about this movie, which appears to be about as far from “Benji” as it can get.

TV and streaming
The 75th Emmy Awards, which were originally scheduled to air next month, have officially been postponed until January 2024 due to the Hollywood strikes. Nominations for the Emmys were announced last month, with drama series “Succession” and “The Last of Us” leading the pack.

What’s happening in sports

At a glance …
The semifinal matches at the 2023 Women’s World Cup are set with Spain playing Sweden and England facing Australia. The third-place match will be Saturday, and the World Cup Final is next Sunday. Keep up with all the action here.

Buffalo Bills star Damar Hamlin took part in the team’s first preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts, marking his first action in an NFL game since suffering a cardiac arrest on the field in January.

For more of your favorite sports, head on over to CNN Sports as well as Bleacher Report, which – like CNN – is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.

Quiz time!

Looking for a challenge to start your week? Take CNN’s weekly news quiz to see how much you remember from the week that was! So far, 65% of fellow quiz fans have gotten eight or more questions right. How will you fare?

Play me off …

Happy birthday Madonna!
The Material Girl turns 65 on Wednesday. Her first big hit, “Holiday,” was released in 1983. Here she is performing it during “Live Aid” in 1985.

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