The damage and sift through the ru it is august 12th. This is today. Heartbreak in hawaii. Sheer agony for residents in maui returninge for the first time tee what le is left of their h and lives. Almost hao put intods what we se the death trising overniwith 1,000 people still missing. As neo eme of how quickly the wildfires spread withens of people jumping into the water to escape. Special col shocker. A surprise move. Torneyeral merrick gnd appoints a special counso the hunter b investigation. As plea deal talksbreakdown. Republicans blasting the decision. Theyre trying to put out a fire and they just poured gasoline on it. Will this have an impact on the president s reelection bid . Watch your words. The federal judge overseeing the election interference case against former President Trump issues a protective order barring trump from releasing any Sensitive Information in the case. Back to school disaster. Kentuckys Largest School district scrambling this morning trying to figure out how to safely bus tens of thousands of students after mass confusion on the first day of school resulted in missed pickups and some kids not getting home until 10 00 at night. All that plus home run hero. Back to the game. You cannot be serious . Again singleton. His second homer in two atbats. John singleton back with a vengeance smacking a pair of home runs after going eight years without one. Were betting hes still celebrating today, august 12 2023. Ancer m nbc ne thiss today with Peter Alexander and kristen welker. Welcome to today. Thank you for j us saturday. Days later, it is hard to wrap your head around the breadth of the destruction in maui. It truly is. Your heartbreaks for the families struggling. No doubt. That is where we start. The sufng duction maui is unthinkable. Neighborhoods destroyed and many getting back to the homes to see the damage. Look at the aerial view our nbc news crew captured on friday. Nothing left but charred earth in what was a tropical paradise. There are questions why warning sirens did not go off to give people more time to escape. We will get the latest on the investigation and recovery from the state official. We begin with Steve Patterson in maui. Steve, good morning. Reporter peter and kristen, good morning. Death toll rising to 80 people putting this fire on track to be the deadliest in modern american history. It is unthinkable as unbelievable as that number sounds, it is expected to get worse. This morning, the grim reality setting in. Residents returning to where their homes stood. The governor saying it was like an atomic bomb hit. Warning to brace. We lost everything. Reporter the view above from the apocalyptic scene after the wildfires on tuesday took everything in its path. Homes flattened and lines of cars and laihaina destroyed. And now delivering water and supplies to those in need is tom llamas. It is hard to put into words. Reporter the cause of the fire is still unknown. New video emerging showing the frantic moments as people jumped in the water to escape the flames. It was a challenging situation for our small boat crew. Reporter teams combing through one destroyed building after another. The hardest thing. Reporter residents making their way to the burn zone p over the weekend. The line to get back to lahaina. We are figure out what we have. Reporter for many, shock and sadness turning to questions. They usually put on the hurricane sirens to warn us. Nothing. Reporter as some residents ask why they didnt hear warnings, the governor saying communications were impacted by fire and winds. Much of the equipment was destroyed with fire and it is a remote place. We would never diminish any responsibility. We will leave it to our Emergency Management team to explain. Reporter three other Alert Systems were activated according to the Hawaii Emergency Services administration, including phone, tv and radio alerts, but for now, the race to find survivors growing desperate by the hour. Overnight, police blocking the road in lahaina per the curfew which is expected to lift in a few hours giving residents the first view of what is left in the community. Back to you. Steve patterson, thank you. We want to bring in cindy mcmillan. Our condolences to you and your community. We are sorry for everything you are going through. Can you bring us the latest of what you are seeing on the ground and also on those fire hot spots overnight . There are, in fact, hot spots remaining. Flare ups remain. There were fairly significant ones last night four miles north of lahaina town. The last word was have 100 contained. Now state and federal officials and partners all working together to save lives and support those survivors. Mr. Mcmillan, i want to ask about the search and recovery efforts, but there is a number that is stunning for americans to hear. It is 1,000. The number the hawaiian leadership stated. Is that because people went to other islands or should we prepare for the death toll to rise exponentially . I cannot underestimate the death toll. We do believe the communications are starting to come back online and we are hoping and believe that will help reunite families. Ms. Mcmillan, we have been reporting that the Warning Systems did not go off. Can you tell us how are they supposed to work and do you have any new information on why they didnt work properly . Those are good questions. As a matter of fact, governor green was asking those same questions. He has directed his attorney General Lopez to conduct an inquiry into this and figure out what happened and what was the policy in place and procedures in place and what actually happened to discover what went where things, you know, how it unfolded. That investigation was just begun friday. Announced on friday and begun on friday. We dont have any preliminary information to share with you yet. What i can tell you is i know both governor green and attorney general and administration wants to understand what happened. Can we get a better understanding from you right now for those there right now . How long will you be before you restore power and cell service to the island . Huge swaths of maui are still without both. Right. Those efforts are ongoing. Some people did receive Cell Phone Service today. Others are still waiting. We have brought in additional teams and more equipment to help make repairs more quickly. It is still a challenging situation. We ar still having hot spots and flare ups. The priority is to save lives and support survivors. We do hope these communications and other services will be restored as quickly as it is safe to do so. Ms. Mcmillan, people across the country want to help. What does your Community Need most right now . You know, i totally understand that and it feels satisfying to give something or send something. Right now, what is really needed are monetary donations that can get immediately to the people who have been impacted so they can purchase the things they need. The state of hawaii has several options or has suggested several options for people. We hope that will happen. You know, people will say why cant we just send donations. The logistics on that and transported and distributed on the other end the state is asking if you like to help, consider a monetary donation. Okay. We posted the address for the red cross at the bottom of the screen as well. Cindy mcmillan, our thoughts are with you and your community. Thank you for joining us. Thank you so much. We appreciate your concern and care for this place we call home. A beautiful part of the world. We are grateful for you making time for us. We move to politics and announcement on friday that attorney general Merrick Garland appointed a special counsel into the probe of the pnts s hu. We have monica alba with lates on that the spe counsel presidtrump a well. Nica. Repr peter, good mornin w houseo advance knowledge of the investigation into hunter biden. That is consistent with other department moves. This sends an already politically are fraught investigation into the new and unpredictable phase. This morning, hunter biden facing a likely cral trial in the midst hisfather reelection bid after prosecutors and defense lawyers failed to Reach Agreement on friday on taxing gun related charges. After Merrick Garland elevated the charges to special counsel status. Died weitz asked for it on tuesday. Mr. Garland said it was in the Public Interest to do so. The appointment reinforces the American People and department commitment to independence and accountability and particularly sensitive matters. Reporter some republicans rejected the decision arguing weitz was central to the sweetheart deal to spare biden from prison time which ultimately broke down. Who in their right minds of ng t title solves the problems assted with mr. Weitz . No. Rter President Biden igd qions last evening. The white house referring the matter to the Justice Department and hunters attorneys who said they expect a fair resolution. All this as t separatecial col invtion ening former President Trumps efforts to overturn the 2020 election gets closer to the trial date. The judge overseeing the case warning mr. Trump and lawyers to tread lightly before making any inflammatory public statements to intimidate witnesses. Issuing a public order to ensure the sensitivity of the proceedings. Mr. Trump ple notlty and wrote, if you go after me, im coming after you. With his campaign arguing that message was meant for political groups. We have news on President Bidens special counsel case of handling of classified documents. Nbc news reporting that the president s lawyers have been negotiates terms with the last month going back and forth of how and when and where the interview might take place. A key step before that inveation canp up. Pe and kristen. Monica alba, thank you. We are joined by danny cevallos. Danny, let me ask about the hunter biden investigation. This is david weitz asked for. What added authority does it give to weiss . The special counsel will no longer be ruled by the attorney general. Special counsel does have to report to the attorney general. In a way, the attorney general indicated that david weiss had broad investigative powers. What inference can we draw from weiss request to become special counsel . In terms of powers, they will have the same powers, his team will have the same powers as any other u. S. Attorney to issue subpoenas and seek search warrants and conduct an investigation. The primary power of a special counsel is independence. Danny, lets talk about the election interference case against former President Trump. As you heard monica report, the judge did issue a protective order limiting how mr. Trump handles the matl in the ca what the implicati for e legalat for mr. Trump . The j here h split the difference between the parties. On the one hand, they had to turn everything over. We have not seen the documents yet and there are limitations. This defense team knows they have a client that is going to go out and make sometimes. They want to limit that potential problems on the front end as opposed to dealing with it in hearing later on. Going forward, the team will have to show documents to former President Trump. He cannot write down Sensitive Information like Social Security numbers. That would have been subject to a protective order anyway. Does it leave gray area . Yes. Could trump find that gray area . Probably. Danny, to your point, this is not someone who followed the norms of the situations attacking every prosecutor and judge in any case he has been part of to this point right now. What is the consequence . What can the judge do if the president makes inflammatory statements or reveal the sensitive evidence . What will happen is the government will be watching trump closely. If they think he violated the public order or has done something which constitutes threatens a witness, they will ask everybody to come in and address it in court. I believe people will watch him closely on social media. If there is a violation of the or as a num ofowers for enforcement. Those powers exercised in incrementally. E may start with a ry fine ascalate until sanctions can potentially lead to jail, or shment. There is criminal and civil contempt. If the judge thinks that what trump has done is so bad, she can punish him criminally for contempt which exists outside the case or can include incarceration, but likely includs fines. If they think trump steps out of line, they will would be the first ones in court. Thank you for understanding the extraordinary circumstances. Danny cevallos. Time for the first check of the forecast as we go to meteorologist Angie Lassman in new york. Good morning. It is a gourday in t east coast where it is kwie evidenter. Check out the line of thunderstorms in the midwest. We have thunderstorm watching up in that area. As we look ahead to the afternoon hours, that is when we see the northeast with the potential for stronger storms. We are talki win up to 60 miles peur or higher. Damaging hail up to 1. 5 inches or higher. We cannot rule out a tornado. The Severe Weather is back in the plains. Kansas city and springfield and paducah involved in the good. Looking up to dense fog out along the coastline. A live look over the bay bridge. Be careful heading over the bay area bridges. Also breezy out there this morning, and that fog continues and moves up towards the north bay over san rafael at this hour and in the north bay, starting with chilly temperatures in those mid50s. Becoming more mild going on into concord and livermore at 63 degrees. And thats the look at the forecast. Peter and kristen. Thank you, angie. Still to come, we go back to maui where dana griffin has the look at the rich history of the island. The people of maui banded to together to help the people hurt by the wildfires. The history can never been lost. Coming up, we take a look at the Historic Town of lahaina and why it i we are back now on saturday morning with our weekly download. A look back ago the other stories. Joe fryer is in new york with that. Good morning. Among the headlines, a standoff with federal authorities and armed suspect accused of making threats against the president. The fbi had a deadly confrontation with a utah man who threatened to kill president joe biden. When the fbi came to arrest craig robertson, robertson was armed. He pointed his weapon at federal agents and did not comply with their commands. This brawl in alabama went viral this week. A group of white men attacking a black boat captain. Charges have been filed against four people. After the altercation, the members of the community jumping in to defend the cocaptain. Asyou see he from the footage, a man swinging a folding chair. It never should have gotten physical. A virginactic rt launched into spaceh the a mom andghter duo who won theirts ie sweepstakes. M dream has come true with my daughter. A 65yearold woman was attacked by a shark at the new york city beach. First time thats happened in decades. Bit by a shark. Emts worked to stop the bleeding. The official says there was Severe Damage to her leg. She is in serious, but stable condition according to hospital o officials. Someone who bought a Mega MillionsLottery Ticket at publix in neptune, florida, is very, very rich at 1. 5 billion. It wasnt me. Most of us here bought a ticket and there were no winners. Some of the weeks most dramatic moments caught on camera. The president ial candidate in ecuador was shot to death while leaving a rally. He had been speaking out about Gang Violence and corruption. Officials in ecuador detained six foreign nationals from colombia in connection with the crime. The coast guard rescued a boater drifting at sea for two months. He managed to flash a hang loose sign as he was reunited with his family. This video shows a bull breaking free at a rodeo in utah. The states Lieutenant Governor says her mother and brother were injured by the bull in the parking lot. It was quickly captured. Finally, San Diego Police are asking for help locating this man who they say set out to steal a bike from this open garage. The family dog caught him in the act, but rather than taking him down, instead, the friendly golden retriever rolled over for a belly rub. The man had not been caught yet. Police want him for questioning. The dog wants him for another belly rub. Well done, joe. If every burglar had this mentality. The bikes good, but the dog is so cute. I just love the golden. How can you resist . Joe, thank you. Still to come on today, the fun of getting turned around inside. The maze is the giant vacation trend around the world. And the baback in the e day, snsneaker dropops meant gettining online t to waitit in line. Now wiwith xfinityty mobile. We get t the fastesest mobilele service and cacan get the e freshest kicks asasap. I got ththis. Get ththe best pririce for 2 s of unlimitited when yoyou switch t to xfinity y mobiler 30 0 a line perer month. Nicece job, littttle sis ththey grow upup so fast. Im m a fan. Frfrom xfinityty. Good morning. Thanks for joining us on this saturday, august 12th. Im kira klapper. Happening today, the community of san jose is coming together to support a street vendor. You may remember, this video from last month showing two security guards approach a man selling strawberries at a san jose home depot. At one point one of those guards kicks over the mans crates. Home depot promptly fired those security guards. Now the Community Plans to buy out that vendor in a show of support. If youd like to join, at that same home depot on story road in san jose. It starts at noon. To maui now where we learned the death toll has risen to 80 people amid the deadly wildfire in lahaina. For many, this symbol of hope remains. The famous 150yearold banyan tree, which sit