Free Republic

[Video] Your top local headlines for Wednesday, January 25, 2023. HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) -- A hero has emerged from a shooting in Waikiki that happened earlier this month. https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2023/01/07/police-respond-apparent-shooting-waikiki/ Marine Corps Sgt. Amed Issa said he was in a bar when shots were heard from outside on Lewers Street on Jan. 6. Issa said he thought someone was trying to enter the bar with a gun, so he followed his instincts and ran towards the sound of shots. That’s where he saw gunmen firing at a downed victim. After the two suspects fled, Issa began to treat the victim who was...

Left-leaning proponents of taxing the assets held by America’s billionaires have a new target: In lieu of a federal wealth tax, state lawmakers want to tax billionaires where they live, in states like California, Washington and New York. A group of legislators in statehouses across the country has coordinated to introduce bills simultaneously in seven states later this week, with the same goal of raising taxes on the rich. “The point here is to make sure we do at the state level what is not being done at the federal level,” said Gustavo Rivera (D), a New York state senator...

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Police are searching for two armed suspects following a shooting near a busy Waikiki intersection on Friday night that left a man critically injured. Honolulu EMS said the victim, in his 20s, suffered multiple gunshot wounds. The shooting happened about 10 p.m. near the intersection of Kalakaua Avenue and Lewers Street. Video: The Honolulu Police Department confirmed they are looking for two armed suspects. Sources said the two are believed to have fled in a vehicle. Paramedics treated the victim on scene before transporting him to a hospital in critical condition. The road was closed in the...

Plaintiffs say county did not properly notify hundreds of voters about ballot issuesA candidate and 30 voters have filed a complaint with the Hawaii Supreme Court asking that the results of the Maui County Council’s Wailuku-Waihee-Waikapu residency seat race be voided and a new election be held over alleged violations of duties and state law by the county clerk, including improperly notifying those with deficient return envelopes. On Friday, council candidate Noelani Ahia and 30 Maui County voters filed the complaint involving the race between first-time candidate Ahia and current Maui County Council Chairwoman Alice Lee, who reclaimed her residency...

The volcanic eruption that originated late Sunday within Mauna Loa’s summit caldera has shifted to the Northeast Rift Zone, prompting HVO scientists to indicate to county officials that there is no imminent threat to the community — particular, those near and around the Southwestern Rift Zone — at this time. Those communities include but are not limited to Pahala, Naʻalehu, Ocean View, Miloliʻi, Napoʻopoʻo, Captain Cook, Kealakekua, and Keauhou — all of which are considered high-risk in the event of Mauna Loa eruption due to the steep slope of the rift zone, according to a Hawaii County media release issued...

The world's largest active volcano has erupted in Hawaii for the first time in nearly four decades, officials said. Mauna Loa erupted at 11:30 p.m. local time Sunday (4:30 a.m. ET Monday), the U.S. Geological Survey said. It was the first eruption since 1984, according to its Hawaii Volcano Observatory daily update. The eruption began in Moku‘āweoweo, the summit caldera of Mauna Loa, inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, the agency said, as it upgraded the volcano's alert level from an "advisory" to a "warning." "At this time, lava flows are contained within the summit area and are not threatening downslope...

[Video] The video triggered fierce backlash online. HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - A Big Island man is publicly apologizing after starting an uproar for posting a video of himself urinating on Mauna Kea. After a torrent of criticism, he told Hawaii News Now he learned a valuable lesson and now wants to work to help educate others. Travis Upright gave permission to share a video he recorded, asking for forgiveness. “I never meant to hurt anyone. I never meant to create so much harm but that’s no excuse. It still happened and I’m sorry,” said Upright. In the six-minute apology video, Upright...

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) -- The ongoing fight against the effects of climate change took centerstage at the Honolulu City Council on Thursday. In the past, the council’s Zoning and Planning Committee has drafted bills surrounding coastal erosion and climate change. But lawmakers are now looking at creating comprehensive legislation focused on shoreline development. In an informational briefing, climate experts offered a presentation showcasing the long-term impact of global warming on coastlines throughout Oahu. In Ewa Beach, for example, models show wave inundation of 4 feet in the next 70 years. Dr. Chip Fletcher, interim dean of the University of Hawaii-Manoa School...

HONOLULU (AP) — A jury on Thursday found two Native Hawaiian men guilty of a hate crime for the 2014 beating of a white man who was fixing up a house he purchased in their remote Maui neighborhood. ...In an unusual move, the U.S. Department of Justice sought to prosecute Alo-Kaonohi and Aki and secured a federal grand jury indictment in December 2020 charging each with a hate crime....Prosecutors alleged during the trial in U.S. District Court in Honolulu that Alo-Kaonohi and Aki were motivated by Christopher Kunzelman’s race when they punched, kicked and used a shovel to beat him...

<p>One month after leaving the Democratic Party, former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii is joining Fox News as a paid contributor.</p><p>A representative for the conservative-leaning cable channel confirmed Gabbard signed a deal Monday and will start appearing on its programs next week.</p>

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison claims to be the “People’s Lawyer.” But documents say he spoke at a lavish Hawaii retreat in June 2021 partially funded by companies he’s investigating, including Meta and Google. A 2021 retreat agenda of the Attorney General Alliance says Ellison participated in a lunch conversation at the Grand Wailea hotel with New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas about managing high-profile criminal matters. The AGA is a bipartisan group funded via corporate sponsorship tiers from $10,000 to $50,000, according to documents reviewed by The Center Square. A 2020 AGA sponsorship list obtained by The Center Square...

Politics bites. A Michigan GOP county chairwoman has accused a rowdy Democratic protester of chomping her on the arm at a rally for Republican gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon — the latest act of mayhem as the midterm elections approach. “I’ve never been bit by an adult in my life, or anyone over 5,” Wayne County Republican Party chairwoman Cheryl Costantino told Detroit’s WXYZ News on Thursday, showing off bruising and teeth marks on her upper left arm. “I couldn’t even raise my arm, like, it was even uncomfortable just to drive,” Costantino said. The demonstrator, a special education teacher in...

Honolulu police have opened a first-degree robbery investigation after three male suspects allegedly robbed a visitor in Waikiki. Police said the suspects approached the victim, 23, in the 400 block of Ena Road brandishing knives and a handgun and demanded money at about 2 p.m. Wednesday. The suspects fled on foot with money taken from the victim. No injuriies were reported.

Former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii implored Utah voters to reelect Republican Sen. Mike Lee to prevent "warmonger" Democrats' escalations towards nuclear war. Speaking at a packed gymnasium in Draper, Utah, Thursday, Gabbard, according to Deseret News, called Democrats "warmongers" who are "subservient to the military industrial complex" and are escalating the United States closer to nuclear war with Russia.Gabbard encouraged voters to send politicians like Lee to the Senate to "push the brakes on this and stop them [Democrats] from destroying life as we know it." But Lee's opponent, former CIA agent and independent Utah Senate candidate Evan...

The city confirms nine of the 10 staff members at the shooting complex have lead levels above the normal range. HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) -- The city has no timeline for when Oahu’s only public shooting range will reopen as an investigation into elevated lead levels in the majority of workers at the facility begins. The city confirmed nine of 10 staff members at the shooting complex who were tested have lead levels above the normal range. Two additional staff members declined to get tested. A timeline of exactly when the city first became aware current employees had been exposed to lead...

On December 6, 2017, about an hour before midnight, Maui police were called about suspected trespassers on a trail controlled by Flyin Hawaii Zip Lines. The police did not explore the trail or look for trespassers. They waited for the owner of Flyin Hawaii Zip Lines, armed with an AR15-style rifle, to search the trail and locate those accused of trespassing. From an August 22, 2022 article in Mauinews.com:Wilson, 46, had faced the felony charge of keeping a firearm in an improper place and the misdemeanor charge of keeping ammunition in an improper place after he was arrested Dec. 7,...

Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard on Tuesday is scheduled to campaign for Kari Lake, the Republican nominee for governor of Arizona, just days after announcing she was leaving the Democratic Party. Lake's campaign said Gabbard would introduce the gubernatorial candidate at a GOP forum in Chandler, Arizona. The dramatic swing to the right comes on the heels of Gabbard, who ran for president as a Democrat in the 2020 election cycle, posting a video statement saying she could no longer remain a member of a party “now under the complete control of an elitist cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness.”

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) -- Hawaii Island police have identified the badly composed body discovered on Tuesday at a residence in Mountain View. Officials said identified the victim as 47-year-old James Paul Phelps of a Lehua Street address, in Mountain View. Authorities said they responded the scene shortly after 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday after police say a caller reported going to check on the welfare of an acquaintance and discovering a foul odor coming from within. Responding officers said they located the decomposing body on the floor of the residence. An autopsy was performed and the forensic pathologist concluded that the victim...

https://www.newsweek.com/tulsi-gabbards-dem-decision-fuels-speculation-shes-trumps-vp-choice-1750971 -- Former congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard's decision to leave the Democratic Party has some wondering whether she could be former President Donald Trump's future running mate. Gabbard announced on Tuesday in a video shared to social media that she was no longer a Democrat, and said the party was being led by "an elitist cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness" who promote "anti-white racism." She went on to say that she was leaving the party to become an Independent in part because she believed Democrats were bringing the world "ever closer to nuclear war." -- Very interesting. Trump himself,...

Gabbard said the Democratic Party is controlled by 'fanatical ideologues who hate freedom' ... Tulsi Gabbard will hit the campaign trail with Republican New Hampshire Senate nominee Don Bolduc, after announcing her shocking exit from the Democrat Party because she believes they are "controlled by fanatical ideologues who hate freedom." ... she denounced the "elitist cabal of war-mongers" who make up her former party and divide the country by "racializing every issue and stoking anti-white racism." ... Gabbard made headlines Tuesday after she announced she would be leaving the Democratic Party she once represented in Congress, her reason being that...