US unveils proposal to ease restrictions on marijuana
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday unveiled a historic proposal to ease restrictions on marijuana, a rule that if enacted would also enable more research on its medicinal benefits.
Maui native crowned new Miss USA following pageant controversy
Kihei native Savannah Gankiewicz was crowned Miss USA 2023 at a special coronation ceremony Wednesday, amid controversy surrounding the Miss USA organization after both the former Miss USA 2023 and former Miss Teen USA 2023 resigned last week.
Council bill authorizes County to limit bike tours from select public roads
What began as an effort to reduce bike traffic on specific West Hawaii roads has become a proposed series of regulations upon bike tour operators throughout the Big Island.
Standoff suspect granted mental exam, freed by judge
A Kona judge has freed a 32-year-old Ocean View man accused of breaking and entering a home and then engaging police in a lengthy armed standoff on Sunday.
US consumer inflation resumes downward trend as domestic demand cools
WASHINGTON — U.S. consumer prices increased less than expected in April, suggesting that inflation resumed its downward trend at the start of the second quarter in a boost to financial market expectations for a September interest rate cut.
Biden and Trump agree to two debates in June and September
President Joe Biden and Donald Trump have agreed to two debates, one on June 27 on CNN and one on Sept. 10 on ABC News, the first onstage clashes between the former president and his successor in more than three years.
Pair accused of stealing car that picked them up hitchhiking
The cases of hitchhikers who allegedly stole a car while the driver was inside Pahoa 7-Eleven store buying food are now in Hilo Circuit Court.
The inside story of Elon Musk’s mass firings of Tesla Supercharger staff
The day before Elon Musk fired virtually all of Tesla’s electric-vehicle charging division last month, they had high hopes as charging chief Rebecca Tinucci went to meet with Musk about the network’s future, four former charging-network staffers told Reuters.
RFK Jr. is 2024’s X factor, new polls show, fueled by young voters and social media
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is polling stronger than any third-party candidate has in decades, pulling in roughly 10% of registered voters across the battleground states as he saps support from President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, a new series of polls has found.
Big Island, state under flash flood watch due to kona low
The National Weather Service posted a flash flood watch this morning for the state of Hawaii, including Hawaii Island. As of now, the watch is effective through Friday evening.
County wants private land for Puna road
Hawaii County will seize portions of a pair of private properties in lower Puna in order to complete the reopening of Pohoiki Road.
Closing arguments made in Red Hill lawsuit trial
A lawsuit trial brought by families affected by the Red Hill water crisis against the federal government under the Federal Tort Claims Act saw both sides make their closing arguments Monday.
County grants lease extension of Kanoelehua Industrial Area property
After years of bureaucratic wrangling, a Hilo lessee of state land has finally secured a 30-year lease extension for property in the Kanoelehua Industrial Area.
County puts up $200K to mitigate invasive insect
Hawaii County will invest in additional biosecurity measures at a West Hawaii waste facility to prevent the spread of a devastating invasive beetle.
High interest rates are hitting poorer Americans the hardest
High interest rates haven’t crashed the financial system, set off a wave of bankruptcies or caused the recession that many economists feared.
Hawaii Police salutes its fallen officers with honorary ceremony
About four dozen civilians and a contingent of uniformed Hawaii Police Department officers attended HPD’s Police Week ceremony Monday at the Hilo Police Station.
Michael Cohen, key to Trump case, tells jurors of seedy hush-money plot
NEW YORK — Michael Cohen, the do-anything fixer who once boasted of burying Donald Trump’s secrets and spreading his lies, took the stand at the former president’s criminal trial Monday and exposed those machinations to the jury and the world.
Wildfire prevention a ‘kakou effort’: Green talks hazard mitigation, Maui recovery
Gov. Josh Green on Friday used the occasion of Wildfire Awareness Month to update the public on progress being made to return some semblance of normalcy on Maui after wildfires last Aug. 8 killed more than 100 people, displaced thousands in Lahaina and damaged or destroyed seven structures in West Hawaii.
UH-Hilo holds spring commencement ceremony
About 500 students walked across the stage and officially graduated from the University of Hawaii at Hilo Saturday morning.
Fixer of Trump’s problems has become one of them
Donald Trump has always surrounded himself with lawyers — all types of lawyers. There are the television-friendly talking heads. The polished criminal practitioners. The pit-bull litigators, the corporate suits and the legal advisers with their own legal troubles.
