STVRs on ag land goes before state high court
A debate about whether short-term vacation rentals should be allowed on farmland will go before the state’s highest court this week.
Shipman looks for new space for Keaau Farmers Market vendors
W.H. Shipman Ltd. says it has “identified a couple temporary spots” for the Keaau Farmers Market and intends to have space available by June 1 so the vendors of the popular market can continue to sell fruits and vegetables to the Keaau community.
Pohoiki project moves ahead: BLNR approves permit to dredge channel
A state board has approved an application for a dredging project that would reopen the Pohoiki Boat Ramp.
A solar storm is hitting Earth’s atmosphere, making northern lights visible
A dramatic blast from the sun set off a geomagnetic storm in Earth’s atmosphere Friday that is expected to make the northern lights visible as far south as Alabama and Northern California and could interfere with power grids, communications and navigations system.
Trump trial judge cracks down on Cohen’s taunting of ex-president
NEW YORK — In a startling precursor to what could be the most explosive testimony in Donald Trump’s criminal trial, the judge Friday told prosecutors that he was personally asking that a key witness stop speaking out against the former president.
Bill exempts certain medical services from general excise tax
A Senate bill exempting private health care providers from general excise taxes for services to patients with Medicaid, Medicare and TRICARE has made it to the governor’s desk.
U.S. builds web of arms, ships and bases in the Pacific to deter China
TAIPEI, Taiwan — U.S. officials have long seen their country as a Pacific power, with troops and arsenals at a handful of bases in the region since just after World War II.
Breach grows between Biden and Israel’s leaders over Rafah invasion
JERUSALEM — Israeli leaders declared Thursday that they would not be deterred by President Joe Biden’s threat to withhold more arms shipments if the military launched a major assault on densely populated areas of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
Stormy Daniels, echoing Trump’s style, pushes back at lawyer’s attacks
NEW YORK — Donald Trump, the onetime president, and Stormy Daniels, the longtime porn actor, despise one another. But when Daniels returned to the witness stand at Trump’s criminal trial Thursday, his lawyers made them sound a lot alike.
Forecasters predict heavy rain, possible thunderstorms and flash flooding
Weather watchers are warning of a strong upper-level low-pressure front forecast to move eastward across the island chain, potentially bringing severe thunderstorms and flash flooding to the Big Island as early as this afternoon.
Public clashes with Army over PTA lease
Big Islanders continued to urge the U.S. Army to abandon the Pohakuloa Training Area instead of extending its lease of state land.
Fentanyl smuggling case moved to federal court
The case of a 41-year-old Kailua-Kona man accused of smuggling fentanyl into Hawaii from California has been moved to U.S. District Court in Honolulu.
Supreme Court to decide contentious issues amid ongoing criticism
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is about to issue dozens of decisions that include hot-button political issues such as abortion, gun rights and a criminal case against Donald Trump — a treacherous path for an institution that has spent recent years navigating criticism of its decisions and judicial ethics.
Biden pressures Israel to reach a cease-fire in Gaza, straining ties
TEL AVIV, Israel — The Biden administration dispatched the head of the CIA to meet Wednesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, part of an effort to limit Israel’s military operation in the Gaza Strip city of Rafah and push for a cease-fire deal with Hamas.
US Social Security, Medicare get slight boost from strong economy
WASHINGTON – Trust funds supporting Social Security and Medicare benefits for U.S. seniors showed slight improvement as stronger-than-forecast economic growth and productivity has boosted revenue collections, according to trustees’ reports released by the U.S. Treasury on Monday.
‘Things can still happen,’ weather service cautions of below-average hurricane prediction
Hurricane season is June 1 to Nov. 30 in Hawaii, and AccuWeather — a commercial weather forecasting service — is predicting a relatively quiet season for tropical cyclones in the Central Pacific basin.
Stormy Daniels tells a story of sex with Trump as he listens in disgust
NEW YORK — When Donald Trump met Stormy Daniels, their fling seemed fleeting: He was a 60-year-old married mogul at the peak of reality television fame, and she was 27, not half his age, a Louisiana native raised in poverty and headed to porn-film stardom.
‘Wenaokeao’: Big Island students name Maunakea observatory instruments after starlight
A pair of instruments at a Maunakea observatory have been given a less unwieldy name by a group of Big Island high school students.
Punalu‘u project stalled: Board grants standing to two legal challenges to the proposed resort
Legal challenges by two different groups of Ka‘u residents against a planned resort development in Punalu‘u will go forward after a long, tempestuous Windward Planning Commission meeting on Monday.
Witness in Trump trial links former president to a hush-money payoff
NEW YORK — After two weeks of enthralling jurors with stories of sex and scandal, prosecutors delved into the documents at the heart of Donald Trump’s criminal trial on Monday, a pivotal turn in the case that came on the same day the judge held Trump in contempt and threatened to jail him.
