Wildfires rampage in Greek forests, cut large island in half
ATHENS, Greece — Three large wildfires churned across Greece on Saturday, with one threatening whole towns and cutting a line across Evia, the country’s second-largest island, isolating its northern part. Others engulfed forested mountainsides and skirted ancient sites, leaving behind a trail of destruction that one official described as “a biblical catastrophe.”
US averaging 100,000 new COVID-19 infections a day
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The COVID-19 outbreak in the United States crossed 100,000 new confirmed daily infections Saturday, a milestone last exceeded during the winter surge and driven by the highly transmissible delta variant and low vaccination rates in the South.
Volcano Watch: A spaceborne sentinel keeps watch over Hawaiian volcanoes
Geologists at the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory had their mobile phones buzzing this past week with automated alert messages, notifying them that there was something new and hot on the Island of Hawaii. Although the internal alert system is meant to detect new volcanic activity, no eruption was occurring.
Your Views for August 8
Mandatory inoculations
Did you miss Fauci’s most urgent warning?
Breaking news about the deadly COVID-19 flashed across our news screens Thursday morning. Finally, President Joe Biden’s pandemic alert team seemed to be issuing the lifesaving medical science warning call we all urgently needed to hear and heed. Before it is too late!
Climate change means an end to Paradise
When people used to ask me where I’m from, they would smile and shake their heads in disbelief when I said Paradise. “Paradise?” they would ask. “Where is that?”
Hilo judge find 4 TMT kupuna protesters not guilty
Four Native Hawaiians arrested in 2019 while protesting against the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope on Hawaii’s highest peak were not guilty of obstructing the mountain’s access road, a judge ruled today.
Schatz, Ige clarify eviction ban
Gov. David Ige said Friday an eviction moratorium issued Tuesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention applies to almost all of Hawaii.
NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week
Aroundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these are legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked them out. Here are the facts:
Capitol rioters enter 1st guilty pleas to assaulting police
A New Jersey gym owner and a Washington state man on Friday became the first people charged in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol to plead guilty to assaulting a law enforcement officer during the deadly siege.
The Obamas belatedly retreat from the delta variant
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted millions of Americans’ rites of passage — quinceañeras, proms, graduations, weddings, etc. — and thanks to the Delta variant, the cancelations, postponements and downsizings will continue for the foreseeable future.
South Dakota’s Sturgis rally roars back as delta rising
STURGIS, S.D. — The Black Hills of South Dakota roared with motorcycles and crowds Friday as the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally kicked off, with mostly mask-less rallygoers packed shoulder-to-shoulder at bars and rock shows, despite a rise in COVID-19 cases in the state.
10 passengers injured in stabbings on Tokyo train
TOKYO — A man with a knife attacked 10 passengers on a commuter train in Tokyo on Friday and was arrested by police after fleeing, fire department officials and news reports said.
Tropical Gardening: Gumbo Limbo a rare tree with many talents and names
The Gumbo Limbo, Bursera simaruba, also called the Naked Indian Tree in the Caribbean, is hard to miss because of its reddish shiny bark. It is also referred to as the Living Fencepost Tree since a cutting of almost any size will grow easily. It is often used as fence posts by farmers and ranchers in tropical America because it continues to grow and is resistant to termites and decay. Sometimes it is referred to as the Tourist Tree because its reddish trunk peels like a sun burned tourist. The Gumbo Limbo is used as a landscape tree in South Florida because it is easy to propagate. Even cuttings 10 feet tall can be quickly grown and profitable as a nursery item. It is also used as a shade tree for coffee farms in Central America. It has many medicinal uses and has been valued by Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, Central and South America for centuries. Nurseries here do not have the tree but there are three small trees growing in a local West Hawaii garden. If you are interested in obtaining cuttings you may email Tone at tone.yogi@gmail.com to get starts.
Raging wildfires in Greece, Turkey, force thousands to flee
DROSOPIGI, Greece — Wildfires raged uncontrolled through Greece and Turkey for yet another day Friday, forcing thousands to flee by land and sea, and killing a volunteer firefighter on the fringes of Athens in a huge forest blaze that threatened the Greek capital’s most important national park.
Schools reopen with masks optional in many US classrooms
MCDONOUGH, Ga. — As Tussahaw Elementary opened this week for a new school year, teary-eyed mothers led in kindergartners dwarfed by backpacks and buses dropped off fifth graders looking forward to ruling their school. The biggest clue to the lingering COVID-19 crisis was the masks worn by students and teachers — but not all of them.
‘Nothing’s safe’ as wildfire tears through California town
GREENVILLE, Calif. — Shelton Douthit and his team at the Feather River Land Trust in Northern California have been working to restore the lush natural habitat and protect Indigenous artifacts around Lake Almanor. Now, after a ferocious wildfire tore through the area, he knows “nothing’s safe.”
Tokyo Olympics cost $15.4 billion. What else could that buy?
TOKYO — The official price tag for the Tokyo Olympics in $15.4 billion, which a University of Oxford study says is the most expensive on record. What else could those billions buy?
Legislation targets rising issue of cybercrimes
U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz has introduced new legislation to combat cybercrimes as more Americans lose more money to scams every year.
Former Tropical Storm Jimena, now a remnant low-pressure system, crosses into Central Pacific
Jimena, a former tropical storm, has crossed into the Central Pacific as a post-tropical remnant low-pressure system.
Hilo judge finds 4 kupuna TMT protesters not guilty
Four Native Hawaiians arrested in 2019 while protesting against the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope on Hawaii’s highest peak were not guilty of obstructing the mountain’s access road, a judge ruled today.
Schatz: CDC eviction moratorium applies to all Hawaii counties
U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz took to Twitter today to announce that a federal eviction moratorium is in effect for “ALL counties across the state of Hawaii.”
HHSAA, BIIF face decisions in wake season delay
If the devil truly is in the details, than Hawaii high school athletic administrators might want to roll up their sleeves.
DOH reports 628 new COVID-19 cases statewide, 110 on Big Island
The state Department of Health today reported 628 new COVID-19 cases statewide. Of those, 110 are on the Big Island.
Number of COVID cases in Life Care Center of Hilo climbs to 16
Two employees and 14 residents at Life Care Center of Hilo have tested positive for COVID-19 amid a second outbreak of the virus in the facility.
