Former US representative who broke barriers as first woman president of state senate dies after five-month cancer battle
Former US representative Colleen Hanabusa, who was the first woman to serve as president of the Hawaii state senate, has died. She was 74.
Hanabusa died early on Friday after a five-month battle with cancer, said Mike Formby, her friend and former chief of staff in the US House.
Continue reading...Evacuation orders have now been lifted on fast-growing blaze near Paia, recalling Lahaina’s deadly 2023 fire
Officials on the Hawaiian island of Maui went door to door evacuating residents from a wildfire Tuesday and sounded emergency sirens. But evacuation orders were lifted later in the day, as the threat from the fire receded.
The fire, which on Tuesday grew to more than 100 acres (40 hectares), was first reported at 1.30pm near the north shore town of Paia, officials said.
Continue reading...North vent in Halemaʻumaʻu crater started releasing the molten rock in 32nd such episode since December 2024
Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano resumed erupting on Tuesday, firing lava 330 ft (100 meters) into the sky from its summit crater.
It’s the 32nd episode of the volcano releasing molten rock since December 2024, when its current eruption began. So far, all the lava from this eruption has been contained within the summit crater inside Hawaii Volcanoes national park.
Continue reading...Rallies from Alaska to Hawaii will highlight cuts to wages, unions and social safety nets under Trump policies
Nearly 1,000 “worker over billionaire” protests are being planned in all 50 states starting this weekend as part of a Labor Day week of action organized by labor unions and advocacy groups in opposition to the Trump administration’s policies.
The actions include marches and rallies in cities such as Chicago and Los Angeles, a Labor Day parade in New York City, rallies in Palmer, Alaska, Freeport, Maine, and a planned protest at the state capitol in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Continue reading...After Wednesday’s 8.8 magnitude quake, false claims spread online that Winfrey refused to let the public use a private road in Maui – and not for the first time
Even as the threat of a tsunami swamping Hawaii had passed on Wednesday, social media posts were still circulating claims that Oprah Winfrey had refused immediate access to a private road that would allow residents a shorter evacuation route.
The warnings followed one of the century’s most powerful earthquakes, an 8.8 magnitude quake that struck off a Russian peninsula and generated tsunami warnings and advisories for a wide swath of the Pacific. Posts on X and TikTok contended Winfrey refused to open her private road, or was slow to do so during the evacuation.
Continue reading...Powerful 8.8-magnitude earthquake off Russia triggers tsunami alerts across Pacific including for US coast and Japan
A major tsunami is not expected to strike Hawaii, a Pacific monitoring agency has said, after the first waves hit the islands after a powerful magnitude-8.8 earthquake that struck off Russia’s eastern coast.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, operated by the US National Weather Service, said in an update that “based on all available data”, a major tsunami was not expected, although it warned all coasts could remain “a hazard to swimmers and boaters”, including people near the shore.
Continue reading...Kahikinui fire is 85% contained as firefighting crews battle blazes in Pacific north-west, California and the Rockies
A fast-moving Hawaii brush fire fueled by fierce winds forced the evacuation of about 50 Maui residents on the opposite side of the same island where a devastating blaze killed more than 100 people two years ago.
The fire started on Sunday in a sparsely populated area with land set aside for Native Hawaiians.
Continue reading...Hilo office, with scientists and their volcano-monitoring equipment, may have lease cancelled from Doge cuts
As Hawaii’s most active volcano shot out fountains of lava on Thursday, some of them reaching as high as 700ft, scientists from the US Geological Survey have been posting regular updates on the scale and pace of the eruptions.
But those same scientists, along with their volcano-monitoring equipment, may soon be evicted from their office because of Elon Musk’s federal government cost-cutting, the Honolulu Civil Beat reported.
Continue reading...Accident that also critically injured more than 20 others occurred just before midnight outside a Honolulu home
A New Year’s Eve fireworks explosion in a Honolulu-area neighborhood killed at least three people and critically injured more than 20 others, authorities say.
The accident occurred just before midnight outside a home, the Honolulu fire department said in a statement.
Continue reading...Child had run off from family ‘in a split second’ as they admired lava within caldera at sunset on 23 December
Hawaii national park rangers have reissued warnings about volcano tourism after a small child wandered off and came within feet of a 400ft cliff near the rim of Kīlauea volcano, whose latest eruption had begun on 23 December.
“The hazards that coincide with an eruption are dangerous, and we have safety measures in place including closed areas, barriers, closure signs and traffic management,” said park superintendent Rhonda Loh in a statement.
Continue reading...Flight left Chicago’s O’Hare airport on morning of Christmas Eve and body discovered at Hawaii’s Kahului airport
Police are investigating the discovery of a dead body in the wheel well of a United Airlines plane after it landed in Hawaii, the airline and the Maui police department said in statements on Wednesday.
The body was found in the wheel well of one of the main landing gears on flight 202, which arrived at Kahului airport from Chicago on Tuesday, United said in an emailed statement.
Continue reading...Hannah Kobayashi disappeared voluntarily as she sought to ‘step away from modern connectivity’, LA police say
A Hawaii woman who vanished after landing in Los Angeles three weeks ago disappeared voluntarily as she sought to “step away from modern connectivity” and was last seen crossing into Mexico, police said at a news conference.
Hannah Kobayashi, 30, appeared unharmed as she walked alone with her luggage into a tunnel at the San Ysidro crossing about 125 miles (201km) south-east of Los Angeles around noon on 12 November the day after her family reported her missing, LA police said Monday. Authorities made the discovery after reviewing surveillance video from the US Customs and Border Protection late on Sunday.
Continue reading...Lai Ching-te’s US stopover on trip to Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau – three diplomatic allies of the self-governed island – prompts Beijing’s protests
The Taiwanese president, Lai Ching-te, has begun a two-day US stopover in Hawaii as part of a Pacific tour after declaring his democratically governed island a key force for promoting global peace and stability.
The trip has sparked fury from China, which views Taiwan as its own territory and opposes any foreign interactions or visits by the island’s leaders. China’s foreign ministry said on Sunday it had lodged “serious protests” with the US.
Continue reading...Body of Ryan Kobayashi, who flew to LA to find daughter, found after police respond to reports of apparent suicide
Ryan Kobayashi, who flew to Los Angeles from Hawaii in search of his missing daughter, has been found dead near the Los Angeles international airport. Ryan Kobayashi had been searching for his 31-year-old daughter, Hannah Kobayashi, who was last seen at the airport on 8 November en route to New York City.
“After tirelessly searching throughout Los Angeles for 13 days, Hannah’s father, Ryan Kobayashi, tragically took his own life,” the family wrote in a statement shared by the Rad Movement, a missing persons non-profit. “This loss has compounded the family’s suffering immeasurably.”
Continue reading...Ex-Hawaii congresswoman ran for president as Democratic candidate before quitting party to support Trump
President-elect Donald Trump has chosen former Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard to serve as his director of national intelligence.
Gabbard, who served in the US military in Iraq, served four terms as a Democratic congresswoman representing Hawaii, and ran for president in the Democratic primary in 2020, before quitting the party in 2022, and becoming a supporter of Trump.
Continue reading...A 61-year-old man was surfing on Friday morning when a shark bit him, completely severing his leg
A shark bit a Maui surfer on Friday and severed his leg, authorities said.
The man, 61, was surfing off Waiehu Beach Park on Friday morning when a shark bit him. Police officers who arrived to the scene first tried to control the bleeding with tourniquets. His right leg was “completely severed just below the knee,” Maui county said in a news release.
Continue reading...Path of Hurricane Gilma spared damage as Hurricane Hone passes close to Hawaii and Typhoon Shanshan approaches Japan
The Pacific Ocean has become a theatre of dynamic meteorological activity this week, showcasing two hurricanes in the north-east, and a typhoon in the north-west. Hurricane Gilma underwent rapid intensification into a powerful category 4 storm on Sunday as it tracked west through the Pacific. Fortunately, Gilma’s path was spared significant damage, but instead generated turbulent sea conditions over the weekend; 3.5-metre-high swells and sustained winds reaching 130mph made it a feature to be avoided by marine vessels. Gilma will eventually approach the Hawaiian archipelago, with models suggesting it will pass to the north of the islands by Friday. By then, however, Gilma is expected to have dissipated into a remnant area of low pressure with little destruction in its path.
In contrast, Hurricane Hone made its presence felt on the Hawaiian islands this weekend, passing just 50 nautical miles south of Hawai’i – the Big Island – with sustained winds towards the centre nearing 80mph on Sunday. Despite being classified as a category 1 hurricane, Hone has made a significant impact through elevated surf and sea swells, causing strong breaking waves of up to 4.3 metres, as well as strong winds gusting around 60mph. However, the biggest threat is that of flash flooding and landslides on steep slopes, especially on the eastern windward side of the island.
Continue reading...Community landmark is now thriving and bearing fruit after about half its branches died due to intense heat
When a deadly wildfire tore through Lahaina on Maui last August, the wall of flames scorched the 151-year-old banyan tree along the historic town’s Front Street. But the sprawling tree survived the blaze, and thanks to the efforts of arborists and dedicated volunteers, parts of it are growing back – and even thriving.
For generations, the banyan tree served as a gathering place along Lahaina’s waterfront. By many accounts, it was the heart of the oceanside community – towering more than 60ft (18m) high and anchored by multiple trunks that span nearly an acre.
Continue reading...The actor, who also appeared in Blue Crush and Hawaii Five-0, was a lifeguard and professional surfer, described as a ‘legendary waterman’
Pirates of the Caribbean actor Tamayo Perry has died following a shark attack in Hawaii.
Perry, who also appeared in Blue Crush and Hawaii Five-0, was surfing at Malaekahana beach on the Hawaiian island of Oahu when he died on Sunday afternoon.
Continue reading...The eruption began early Monday in a remote area that last saw lava a half-century ago, with ‘absolutely no property in danger’
Kilauea, one of the most active volcanoes in the world, began erupting early on Monday in a remote area that last erupted a half-century ago, the US Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said.
The eruption is about 1 mile (1.6 km) south of the Kilauea caldera, in an area within Hawaii Volcanoes national park that last erupted in December 1974. The area surrounding the caldera has been closed to the public since 2008 because of other hazards, including ground cracking, instability in the crater wall and rockfalls.
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