Maui wildfire survivors will get an additional year of housing help from FEMA

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Survivors of last year's deadly wildfire that decimated a historic Maui town will receive an additional year of housing assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Housing has been a major challenge in recovering from the Aug. 8, 2023, Lahaina wildfire that killed at least 102 people and displaced 12,000.

FEMA has focused on providing rentals for survivors who did not have insurance coverage for fire losses. The agency is directly leasing homes for more than 1,200 households and giving subsidies to 500 others to use on their own. Many of the rentals are in Kihei, 25 miles (40 kilometers) from Lahaina.

The deadliest U.S. wildfire in a century created uncertainty for many survivors forced to move multiple times, often from one hotel room to another.

The housing assistance was set to end in February, but FEMA approved a one-year extension that will end on Feb. 10, 2026, according to a statement distributed Monday by Hawaii officials.

A report published earlier this month by the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization said that unemployment and poverty are up and incomes are down among Maui wildfire survivors. The report, based on 402 survey responses reflective of the communities affected by last year's fires, found that nine out of 10 respondents lost their homes.

“On behalf of our state, I want to express my gratitude to FEMA for this favorable response to my administration’s request. The ongoing support FEMA and our other federal partners have provided has been crucial for the recovery of our people,” Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said in a statement.

“I am reminded that when he visited Lahaina, President Joe Biden said he and his administration would be with our people for as long as it takes and we are humbly appreciative of that steadfast commitment," Green said.

FILE - Destroyed homes are visible in the aftermath of a devastating wildfire in Lahaina, Hawaii, Aug. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

MAGDEBURG, Germany (AP) — Germany on Saturday was still in shock and struggling to understand the suspect behind the attack in the city of Magdeburg.

Identified by local media as 50-year-old Taleb A., a psychiatry and psychotherapy specialist, authorities said he has been living in Germany for two decades. He was arrested on site after plowing a black BMW into a Christmas market crowded with holiday shoppers Friday evening, killing at least five people and wounding about 200 others.

Prominent German terrorism expert Peter Neumann posted on X that he had yet to come across a suspect in an act of mass violence with that profile.

Taleb’s X account is filled with tweets and retweets focusing on anti-Islam themes and criticism of the religion while sharing congratulatory notes to Muslims who left the faith. He also described himself as a former Muslim.

He was critical of German authorities, saying they had failed to do enough to combat the “Islamism of Europe.”

He has also voiced support for the far-right and anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

Some described Taleb as an activist who helped Saudi women flee their homeland. Recently, he seemed focused on his theory that German authorities have been targeting Saudi asylum seekers.

Neumann, the terrorism expert, wrote: “After 25 years in this ‘business’ you think nothing could surprise you anymore. But a 50-year-old Saudi ex-Muslim who lives in East Germany, loves the AfD and wants to punish Germany for its tolerance towards Islamists — that really wasn’t on my radar."

A person stands by flowers and candles placed outside St. John's Church near a Christmas Market, where a car drove into a crowd on Friday evening, in Magdeburg, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)