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FBI raid serious, unprecedented

The FBI’s search of and seizure of documents from Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida is not only dramatic and serious, but unprecedented: no other former president has faced such an action. Yet Mr. Trump’s ability to survive and thrive politically on similar moments is also without precedent. Even when damaging evidence emerges, he has walked away largely unscathed in the eyes of his base, while the U.S. itself has been diminished. Nor has he yet experienced legal consequences for his actions in office. Monday’s search was reportedly part of the ongoing investigation ...

Sanctions seek wrong target

The United States and its allies are leaning heavily on economic sanctions to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. But a key element in that strategy, restrictions on Russian oil exports, mostly appears to be causing pain for ordinary people in other countries. European nations, in particular, are causing considerable damage to their own economies without reducing Russia’s oil revenue. Nations seeking to help Ukraine are aiming at the wrong target. They have focused on reducing Russia’s energy exports instead of reducing Russia’s earnings from energy exports. Russia is ...

Refs, Umps: Unsung heroes

It usually starts with a coach. A call doesn’t go their way and they take their frustration out on the referee or umpire. A parent chimes in, then another. Taking cues from their trusted adults, players begin acting out on the field. All of a sudden, the officials wish they could be any other place on Earth. On a bad night, the abuse follows them out of the stadium and into the parking lot. Is it any wonder sports leagues on Maui and across the country are having trouble securing officials and volunteers? This week in The Maui News, we learned the Maui Football Officials ...

Expect more refugees

The United States has now met President Biden’s goal, announced in March, to legally admit “up to” 100,000 Ukrainians fleeing Vladimir Putin’s blood-soaked invasion. That admirable achievement shouldn’t mark the end of this country’s commitment to sharing the burden of the ongoing humanitarian nightmare in Europe. The administration has the means and programs in place to retain an open door for Ukrainians forced from their homes. It should prepare for another 100,000. That target might seem ambitious. In fact, many of the United States’ closest allies have shouldered a ...

Chip bill has strings attached

The Senate last week voted 64-32 to advance a $280 billion “chips plus” subsidy bill, and as ever in politics there’s a lot of plus. Money from Washington always comes with strings attached, and we hope the semiconductor CEOs know what they’ve signed up for. That message couldn’t have been clearer from President Biden last week when he told business and labor leaders on a conference call that the bill’s $52 billion in grants for Intel and other chip makers would not be “a blank check to companies.” The President said he will “personally have to sign off on the biggest ...

Stemming the tide

First came the brown and beige spots on the leaves of her avocado trees. Then the Kula farmer watched her avocado harvest dwindle to a tiny fraction of past years. She learned the spots were caused by avocado lace bugs, a new invasive species that poses a true threat to the once-reliable Maui crop. The tiny insects establish colonies on the underside of avocado leaves, robbing them of nutrition. The leaves wither and fall off. Avocado lace bugs were not thought to be on Maui when the state Department of Agriculture first identified the insects on Oahu in December 2019. They now ...