Former governors defend emergency proclamations
Two of Hawaii’s former governors defended the statutory power assigned to the state’s chief executive to proclaim emergencies during public crises.
Conservatives on Supreme Court look set to trash Roe v. Wade’s viability line — but what would they replace it with?
Not even the most strident defender of abortion rights would call the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision a model of elegant jurisprudence. But as six conservatives on the Supreme Court itch to strike it down — on the grounds that women’s bodily autonomy during pregnancy, at least until a fetus is thought to be viable outside the womb, is not rooted in any language of the Constitution — an inconvenient truth shouts back: They have no better dividing line to offer than viability.
Don’t suspend the gas tax
Some centrist Democrats in Congress are pushing for a suspension of the gasoline tax, on the federal and state levels, and it’s not hard to see why: Many of them face tough odds for re-election next year, and rising fuel costs affect every one of their constituents. From both a political and economic standpoint, the plan has some appeal.
US drugstores squeezed by vaccine demand, staff shortages
A rush of vaccine-seeking customers and staff shortages are squeezing drugstores around the U.S., leading to frazzled workers and temporary pharmacy closures.
Obituaries for December 5
Serene Kaleoaloha Chiquita Akina, 47, of Waimea died Nov. 1 in Los Angeles. Born in Hilo and raised in Mountain View, she was a member service representative at HFS Federal Credit Union Waimea branch. Celebration of life starting with 9 a.m. viewing on Saturday, Dec. 18, at Cherry Blossom Park/Church Row in Waimea. Face masks and social distancing required; sanitation stations will be available. Drive-thru encouraged. Private burial at later date. Survived by husband, Charles Akina III; sons, Charles (Felicity) Akina IV of Arizona, Raymond James Akina and Joseph Akina of Texas; parents George and Charlene Chiquita Jr. of Mtountain View; sister, Tammie (Dwayne) Cypriano of Honokaa; Brother George Chiquita III of Mountain View; hanai sisters, Melani Tanaka and Darcy Turner; godchildren; Alexis, Matthew and Samson Akau; uncles, aunties, nephews and nieces.
Michigan parents found in building; bond set at $500K apiece
PONTIAC, Mich. — A judge imposed a combined $1 million bond Saturday for the parents of the Michigan teen charged with killing four students at Oxford High School, hours after police said they were caught hiding in a Detroit commercial building.
Biden, Putin set video call Tuesday as Ukraine tensions grow
MOSCOW — Presidents Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin will speak in a video call Tuesday, the White House and Kremlin said, as tensions between the United States and Russia escalate over a Russian troop buildup on the Ukrainian border that’s seen as a sign of a potential invasion.
CNN fires Chris Cuomo for helping brother deal with scandal
NEW YORK — CNN fired anchor Chris Cuomo on Saturday less than a week after new information emerged about how he assisted his brother, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, as the politician faced sexual harassment allegations earlier this year.
UK tightens travel testing rules amid omicron concerns
LONDON (AP) — Britain’s government tightened travel restrictions Saturday amid concerns about the spread of the omicron coronavirus variant, saying all travelers arriving in England will need to take a COVID-19 test before they board their flight.
France to work with Saudis to resolve crisis with Lebanon
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — France’s president and Saudi Arabia’s crown prince held a joint phone call with Lebanon’s prime minister during Emmanuel Macron’s visit to the kingdom on Saturday, in a significant gesture amid an unprecedented crisis between Lebanon and Saudi Arabia.
In democracy’s birthplace, pope warns of populist threats
ATHENS, Greece — Pope Francis warned Saturday that the “easy answers” of populism and authoritarianism are threatening democracy in Europe and called for fresh dedication to promoting the common good rather than narrow, nationalist interests.
China’s communists bash US democracy before Biden summit
BEIJING — China’s Communist Party took American democracy to task on Saturday, sharply criticizing a global democracy summit being hosted by President Joe Biden next week and extolling the virtues of its governing system.
Le Pen: The right takes step to build ‘big European force’
WARSAW, Poland — European right-wing populist leaders declared Saturday they will cooperate more closely at the European Union’s parliament in order to defend the sovereignty of their bloc’s 27 member nations.
Volcano Watch: A cloud of ten thousand points: terrestrial laser scanning of Halema‘uma‘u
Scientists at the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory largely rely on aerial data collection for making maps of ongoing eruptions at Kilauea. Most commonly, scientists collect a series of overlapping aerial photos (optical or thermal).
Merkel: Virus death toll ‘so bitter because it is avoidable’
BERLIN (AP) — Outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday made what is likely her final appeal before leaving office next week for Germans to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
UHH men falling back to earth, lose PacWest opener to Concordia
That No. 19 national ranking was fun for a while, but the UH-Hilo basketball team can kiss that goodbye after a loss to Concordia, which won despite resembling Shaquille O’Neal at the free throw line.
Concordia handcuffs UHH women in 70-55 win
If Mandi Kawaha has an off-game and Nikki Miller isn’t close to a double-double, the UH-Hilo women’s basketball team has a small window to victory, especially against a well-rounded team like Concordia.
Contact tracing revs up in some states as omicron reaches US
The arrival of the omicron variant of the coronavirus in the U.S. has health officials in some communities reviving contact tracing operations in an attempt to slow and better understand its spread as scientists study how contagious it is and whether it can thwart vaccines.
Few want Roe overturned, but abortion opinions vary widely
WASHINGTON — Arguments before the Supreme Court this week signaled that the conservative-leaning bench may dramatically limit abortion rights in the United States.
La Palma turns into open-air lab for tech-savvy volcanologists
LAS MANCHAS, Canary Islands — They come with eagle-eyed drones and high-precision instruments. Aided by satellites, they analyze gas emissions and the flows of molten rock. On the ground, they collect everything from the tiniest particles to “lava bombs” the size of watermelons that one of nature’s most powerful forces hurl as incandescent projectiles.
Honolulu utility shuts well to prevent fuel contamination
HONOLULU — Amid a continuing crisis over fuel contaminating the Navy’s tap water at Pearl Harbor, Honolulu’s water utility said Friday it shut off one of its wells so it doesn’t taint its own supply with petroleum from an underground aquifer it shares with the military.
Putin to seek guarantees on Ukraine as invasion fears grow
MOSCOW — The Kremlin said Friday that President Vladimir Putin will seek binding guarantees precluding NATO’s expansion to Ukraine during a planned call with U.S. President Joe Biden, while a U.S. intelligence report and the Ukrainian defense minister warned of a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine as soon as next month.
Plumber’s find possibly tied to 2014 Texas megachurch theft
HOUSTON — For more than seven years, no one has known what happened to $600,000 in checks and cash that was stolen from a safe at Pastor Joel Osteen’s Houston megachurch, which has one of the largest congregations in the country.
Where’s the snow? Rockies winter starts with a whimper
DENVER — Denver’s winter has started with a whimper, and the parched mountains to the west aren’t faring much better.
Parents of Michigan boy charged in Oxford school shooting
PONTIAC, Mich. — A prosecutor filed involuntary manslaughter charges Friday against the parents of a teen accused of killing four students at a Michigan high school, saying they failed to intervene on the day of the tragedy despite being confronted with a drawing and chilling message — “blood everywhere” — that was found at the boy’s desk.
