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HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) -- One of Hawaii’s most notorious serial rapists is set to be released Thursday, prompting concern about whether the so-called “Manoa rapist” is still a danger to the community. John Freudenberg was flown back to Oahu on a charter flight last week from Hilo’s minimum security prison. The transport was in preparation for his release on Thursday. [Image] Sheriff's deputies, corrections officers waiting for "Manoa rapist" to arrive in Honolulu (Kawano, Lynn) One of his victims told HNN Investigates that she believes he should remain behind bars. “John Freudenberg is still a threat to public safety,” said the...

A man has been injured after he fell into the caldera of the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii's Big Island, according to officials. The man fell from a 300-foot cliff after climbing over a permanent metal railing at the Steaming Bluff overlook to get closer to the edge, according to a press release from Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. He was rescued by park rangers. (MORE: Satellite images show effects of Kilauea volcano's latest eruption on Hawaii's Big Island) Another visitor reported that the man had fallen around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. Search-and-rescue crews found him alive but seriously injured on a narrow...

An extremely powerful winter storm is pulling away from Hawaii after unleashing damaging winds, massive waves, coastal flooding and snow in unusual places. The storm, which the National Weather Service office in Honolulu described as “historic,” began pounding the islands Friday. Hawaii News Now reported a 66-year-old California man died in the rough surf off northwest Maui on Friday. Forecasters “are calling this an unprecedented event and we concur that we rarely if ever have seen the combination of record high onshore waves, coupled with gale force winds,” said Sam Lemmo, administrator of Hawaii’s Department of Land and Natural Resources...

“I was pretty upset about it,” she said. “I just decided I wanted to do something.” That something, she said, led to the creation of a support group, where people could get together and share and support one another, and for Cottle, two issues in particular stood out: reproductive rights and LGBTQ rights. So she and others formed the group “Matriarchy Rising.” Not long after the group started, word about a proposed “Women’s March on Washington,” started by Maui resident Teresa Shook, began to spread across the country. As of Thursday evening, more than 170,000 people indicated on Facebook they...

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Hurricane Ignacio has maintained its speed in the Central Pacific as its track takes the storm near the Hawaiian islands. The National Hurricane Center said at 5 a.m. Friday, Ignacio was located approximately 840 miles east-southeast of Hilo. . . . Ignacio could become a Category 3 hurricane by Friday. . . . If the storm remains organized it could come close to the Big Island Monday evening. . . .

Mauna Loa, the world's largest active volcano, has rumbled back to life in Hawaii over the past 13 months with more seismic activity than at any time since its last eruption, scientists say, while calling it too soon to predict another blast. The volcano, which last erupted in 1975 and 1984, has been rattled since March 2013 by earthquakes of the same type and in the same location as the temblors that preceded those explosions, said Wes Thelen, a seismologist for the US Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. "The earthquakes we are seeing at Mauna Loa lead us to believe...

Raghunatha John Giuffre knows how it feels to return from the dead. The 49-year-old Wainaku man was the third and final person stabbed during a spree that took place around midnight May 23, and the only one who reportedly knew the alleged assailant, 28-year-old Varaha Nrsngha Mims. [snip]

The Department of Emergency Management advises residents to follow the progress of Tropical Storm Flossie as it approaches Hawaii. The National Weather Service Central Pacific Hurricane Center in Honolulu advised the Department of Emergency Management this afternoon that on its present track Tropical Storm Flossie may bring strong winds and torrential rains and possible flooding early next week.  Tropical Storm Flossie is anticipated to cross the 140° longitude and into Hawaiian Waters around noon Saturday. Posted: Jul 26, 2013 4:41 PM HST Updated: Jul 26, 2013 4:41 PM HST

Jim Albertini will be able to speak at Hilo High School after all. The anti-war activist said that Principal Bob Dircks notified his attorney on Friday that he will be allowed to speak to students, reversing a decision made two days prior to cancel the event due to a backlash over his outspoken views of the military. The previous day, Honolulu attorney Eric Seitz[ACLU] representing Albertini, threatened the school with a lawsuit over alleged civil liberties violations if his presentation wasn’t allowed.

Hilo, Hawaii March 5, 2012: New West Broadcasting announced today that it is discontinuing the Rush Limbaugh program on KPUA AM 670 in Hilo, Hawaii effective immediately. Chris Leonard, President and General Manager of New West released the following statement this morning: “We have always encouraged spirited discussion about national and local issues on KPUA and from time to time those discussions may be deemed by some to be objectionable. We are strong believers in the first amendment and have recognized Mr. Limbaugh's right to express opinions that often times differ from our own, but it has never been our...

Abercrombie vows to fix system. West Hawaii pays a disproportionate percent of property taxes on Hawaii Island, and "we Democrats have to do something about it, and do something now," Gov. Neil Abercrombie told party supporters Saturday in Kailua-Kona. Some 116 people attended the Hawaii County Democratic Party's luncheon held at Hualalai Academy's Bridge Building. Abercrombie also covered topics ranging from energy and sustainability, affordable housing and the failed soda tax legislation. The governor noted that property owners on the west side Hawaii Island pay around 70 percent of all property taxes, even though far more people live on the...

A tsunami generated by an 8.8-magnitude earthquake in Chile struck Hawaii Saturday, but an official with the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the island chain "dodged a bullet" after smaller-than-expected waves were reported.

The Tribune-Herald's front-page story Friday said "controversy erupts" as the usual gaggle of anti-American war activists complained about Army Stryker vehicles participating in Hilo's Veterans Day parade. And the war activists did show up--all 15 of them--they were outnumbered 300-1 by local residents lining the parade route to support the troops and salute the veterans.

HILO - About 400 residents in the Pepeekeo area have signed a petition opposing C. Brewer Environmental Industries' proposal for a waste - to - energy plant in their backyard. At least that is what Pepeekeo Roy Skogstrom said Tuesday at a public hearing here on the draft addendum to the county's 1994 Integrated Solid Waste Management plan (ISWMP). Skogstrom said C. Brewer within the last year has conducted several public meetings in the Pepeekeo area, revealing its incinerator proposal would mean 250 tons of trash per day would trucked from Hilo to Pepeekeo, then 50 tons of ash generated...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 June 26 In the Center of the Trifid Nebula Credit: GMOS, Gemini Observatory Explanation: Clouds of glowing gas mingle with lanes of dark dust in the Trifid Nebula, a star forming region toward the constellation of Sagittarius. In the center, the three huge dark dust lanes that give the Trifid its name all come together. Mountains of opaque dust appear on the lower left, while filaments of...