Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me from washington, d. C. Im fredericka witfield. We begin with the apocalyptic destruction from the deadliest Natural Disaster in hawaiis history. Almost 80 people are dead and thousands displaced. At any moment, lahaina residents could return to assess what might be left. Crews are working to fully contain three major fires and prevent flareups on maui. The devastation costing an estimated 5. 5 billion. Governor josh green has ordered a comprehensive review of the states response. Lets go to cnns mike valerio. Last hour you were approached by a woman who was very frustrated about the road closures. Whats been happening there . Reporter good morning. The sun is now up over maui. This is the moment, fred, that people have been waiting for for more than 14 hours. Hundreds of car s queued up in the background, now able to move through the main route that goes into the Disaster Zone o f la h these are people who have been waiting after they fled their homes tuesday afternoon, tuesday evening with literally nothing but the clothes they were wearing. They may not know whats left of their homes. People sleeping here overnight in their cars. Theyre checking with police. Police are making sure that these are residents, not tourists, not anybody trying to take advantage of the situation. And if you were staying at a bed and breakfast or a small hotel, you are also able to get into this perimeter. We also want to take you as we monitor whats happening over here. Some video of National Guard troops who are beginning to survey the ruins of lahaina. Theyre going door to door, in some instances spray painting xs on the ruins of buildings to convey they have searched inside those buildings. The latest figures that we got from fema, 5. 52 billion is now the estimate for rebuilding lahaina, just a staggering number. 2,207 structures were damaged or destroyed. 4500 is the number of people who could need potential shelter. Also waiting to get in here, people who are donating supplies. We talked to a few of them yesterday. Heres what they told us. Were taking from ice, gas, toothbrushes, toothpaste, baby food, diapers, basically anything we could get our hands on. Were trying to help as many people as we can. Were just trying to get to lahaina and drop this off. We have snacks, wipes, peanut butter, formula and cereal for babies. Reporter youre seeing the start of a new chapter, people hoping to see whats left, taking the highway for about 20 minutes into the epicenter of this crisis. Were going to get in the line as well. Well bring you updates throughout the morning here. Sun rise now, a new day on maui. A new day, but many tenuous moments. Thank you so much. Well be on the journey with you. As officials in laina work to extinguish flareups, cnn went inside the devastation before officials shut down the main road. Bill weir takes a look. The trees behind you, this was all from the tornado that came through. Weve never even seen a tornado in ohio. Reporter in a place so familiar with weather extremes, maui locals have never seen anything like the firestorm that obliterated lahaina. We saw a little smolder of smoke. Then now theres a little brush fire. Within five minutes the whole thing was engulfed and went up in flames. There was nobody to put anything out. Reporter were getting our first glimpse at this town after hearing these nightmare stories. It is worse than you can imagine. It looks like a world war ii set, like a bomb went off here, utter scorched devastation everywhere, melted boats in the harbor. What was once the capital of the Kingdom Of Hawaii and one of the most wellpreserved towns in the nation is ash. This man escaped the flames on his harleydavidson. Had i taken the car, id probably have been with everybody else jumping in the water. Flames were shooting over the top. I didnt want to look behind me, because i knew they were behind me. There was nowhere to go. You were pinned between the fire and the ocean. All those cars sitting and waiting to move, no one was moving anywhere. They all jumped in the ocean and a lot of them didnt make it, from what i heard. If the winds were 80 miles per hour, the surf must have been it wasnt just that. There was diesel fuel in the water as well and the officials couldnt come in because of the reefs. I know a lady that stood in the water for eight hours. Reporter this is the historic banyan tree at the center of lahaina town. It looked like it may have survived. It needs water desperately. For the locals coming down and looking at the damage, this is such a sign of hope that maybe their iconic tree will have lived when so much else is gone here, but the history can never be replaced. Right here, this is the first hotel in hawaii, the Pioneer Hotel and pioneer theater. Its completely gone. Right over here was the library. Its just now a stone shell of scorched blocks. Around front street there, fleetwoods is gutted out with flames. Its just unrecognizable. One of the most charming beloved port cities anywhere in the world is just scorched like a bomb went off. Farmer eddie garcia lost a small fortune in crop damage, but now is bracing for much bigger losses. My god, when i was down there early, there were uncles and people i know in the street dead. People were trying to get to the end of the street. You can tell by where the cars were parked. They say hundreds of people jumped in the water. You personally lost crops . I lost nothing compared to what people lost. I lost farm stuff and food and whatever tiny Little Things compared to what people lost. People lost their family, they lost their houses. Everything weve seen, all the landmarks, everything weve seen for years, history, its all gone. Extraordinary. Bill weir, thank you so much. Heres one bit of good news. Officials say the wildfires on maui are now 80 contained and the winds that fuelled the flames are gradually decreasing. Cnn meteorologist chad myers reports. Its obviously good news that Hurricane Dora has moved away. What isnt gone, though, is this Rainfall Deficit. 80 of hawaii in some type of Rainfall Deficit and in maui county 16 of the area there under severe drought. Even in the dry areas of maui just to the west of haleakala. How are there dry areas in hawaii . Only the one side of every extinct volcano is a rain forest. The other side, thats where it is dry, almost a desert. So heres the west side of maui. The wind and the storms, the trades, come in from the east to the west. If you are on the east side of these mountains, thats where it rains. It rains almost every single day. Places receive 400 inches in kauai and some places. So there is the rain forest that we talk about. On the other side, when the air comes over the top and comes back down, thats when you get the dry air. It really looks like a desert on the other side of the rain forest. These canyons that you see coming down from the top of the extinct volcano may have acted like a wind tunnel effect. We dont know. This is still years and years and years that they will look at this. Something else you probably havent heard of unless youre from the west, wildland urban interface. What is that . Thats when you get wild land here. In fact, those are abandoned Sugarcane Plantations growing wild shrub grasses and things that burn when they dry out, backed up right against the town itself. When you catch the wildland urban interface on fire, that is the risk of sending the fire into a town. It happened in paradise, california, with the campfire. Its happened all over the world. You take a piece of land and you want to put homes right up against the trees because its so pretty, then youre in that wui, the wildland urban interface. Now to the major new developments in the Hunter Biden Investigation. U. S. Attorney general Merrick Garland has now elevated david weiss to Special Counsel status. Weiss has been leading the yearslong probe of president bidens son and he recently requested that he be given Special Counsel designation after plea talks with Hunter Bidens lawyers to resolve tax and gun charges fell apart. Cnns Marshall Cohen is joining us. Help us understand how all of this happened and what it all means from here. Hey, fred, good afternoon. Two big things to understand. Number one, in the past few days plea negotiations between Hunter Bidens lawyers and the Justice Department fell apart. They reached an impasse and the federal prosecutors handling the investigation reached the conclusion that in their view a trial is now in order. Thats the first big development. Separately, but of course completely related, is the announcement yesterday from Merrick Garland, the Attorney General, that the prosecutor who was leading those plea talks, who is leading this investigation, david weiss, is now going to be elevated from austin attorney to a Special Counsel with more authority, power, budget and leeway to prosecute this the way helicophe wants to. Its a Huge Development in the case. Its going to turn what was a speedy resolution into a potential unprecedented trial of the president s son. How is Hunter BidensTeam Responding . Theyve been relatively cautious. They are not attacking the prosecutors, and they are expressing hope they will reach a similar resolution to the one they struck in the nowcollapsed plea deal. Take a listen to Abby Lowell One of Hunter Bidens attorneys. He spoke last night with kaitlan collins. It should not change the outcome. Who could say they have been the subject of such a painstaking investigation looking at every nook and cranny in which the conclusion was two Tax Misdemeanors and a gun case to turn into anything else . Theres been no evidence or fact that wasnt uncovered a week ago that will be uncovered tomorrow. So, in his view, nothing is really changing. I got to tell you, fred, a lot has changed. If they cannot reach a plea deal, then a trial may be in order. Instead of misdemeanors, it could be felonies, a much more serious situation for hunter biden. Fred. Thank you so much. So this new twist in the Hunter Biden Investigation means his case could stretch on for months and could complicate his fathers reelection bid. Lets bring in Priscilla Alvarez at the white house. The white house didnt get a headsup this move was about to happen. What has been the response . Reporter the white house did not receive any sort of headsup when this announcement was coming from Attorney General garland just yesterday. Their strategy as of now is consistent, which is that they are not providing any comment. They are declining to comment on this matter. In fact, in a statement to cnn, ite spokesperson ian sam said, quote, we would refer you to doj or to Hunter Bidens personal representatives, when he was asked about this latest development. Again, this has been consistent for the white house on various matters involving the Justice Department when we were heard from the president on any matters related to the Justice Department. He has maintained they work separately. That explains why there was no headsup to the white house when this came down. When that expected plea deal was happening, there was an expectation, sources tell cnn, that the bidens would be able to move on from this chapter. That is apparently no longer the case as this designation has now happened. It is, of course, a time when the white house is facing intense criticism from republicans, who have gone so far as to potentially open up an Impeachment Inquiry into president biden. The white house says their claims are baseless and they call it a stunt. Of course, it speaks to the increasing criticism that this white house has faced from republicans on policy matters, but also when it comes to hunter biden. Despite the announcement yesterday, it didnt quell any of their concerns. All of this is still very much unfolding. The president and first lady say they love their son and all questions should be referred to Hunter Bidens representatives and the doj. Still to come, the Fulton CountyDistrict Attorney expected to seek more than a dozen indictments regarding Donald Trumps efforts to overturn the 2020 president ial Election Results in that state. Details straight ahead. A bump is in order. Okay, lets see. Master of the rentalsphere. Wow oh, is it too much . Apartments. Comom the place to find a a place. Let Innovation Refunds help with your erc tax refund so you can improve your business however you see fit. Rosie used part of her refund to build an outdoor pati clink dr. Marshall used part of his refund to give his practice a faceft. Emily used part her refund to buy. I run a wax museum. Let Innovation Refunds help you get started on your erc tax refund. Stop waiting. Go to innovationrefunds. Com you really got the brows. Sleep more deeply. And wake up rejuvenated. Purple mattresss Exclusive Gelflex grid draws away heat, relieves pressure, and instantly adapts. Sleep better, live purple. Visit purple. 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Welcome back. Former President Trump could be facing his fourth indictment as soon as next week. Sources tell cnn Fulton CountyProsecutor Fani Willis could seek more than a dozen indictments regarding efforts by trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 president ial Election Results in georgia. Willis is believed to be consider conspiracy and racketeering charges, which would allow her to bring a case against multiple defendants. Cnn political commentator jeff duncan joining us now, a former republican Lieutenant Governor of georgia. Have you received that notice that would come from their office, a 48hour notice to testify . I did just receive notification to appear on Tuesday Morning at the Fulton County grand jury. I certainly will be there to do my part in recounting the facts. Okay. You were one of 70 people who testified last year before a grand jury. Is it your expectation that on tuesday when youre asked questions again, that they will be similar, or are you preparing yourself for new questions and a broadening of the investigation . Well, i have no expectations as to the questions. Ill certainly answer whatever question is put in front of me and certainly dont want to go any deeper than that to jeopardize the investigation. This is a story that is important for republicans to hear, americans to hear. Lets hear the whole truth and nothing but the truth about Donald Trumps actions and the surrounding cast of characters around him. We watched a series of events here that were tragic and untruthful. Hes got a chance to present the facts and say, hey, i didnt know what was going on, or i think the reality is going to be they knew exactly what theyre doing. Theres heavy signaling theres going to be 12plus coconspirators. These folks dont have the same level of l