Articles written by Jennifer Sinco Kelleher
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 33
A small group of Lahaina residents returns to homes destroyed by deadly wildfire
LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — A small group of Lahaina residents returned to their devastated properties Monday for the first time since the Hawaii town was destroyed by wildfire nearly seven weeks ago. Some families who came back stopped for a moment of re...
Hawaii officials say DNA tests drop Maui fire death count to 97
WAILUKU, Hawaii (AP) — Authorities in Hawaii have adjusted the number of deaths from the deadly Maui wildfire down to at least 97 people. Officials previously said they believed at least 115 people had died in the fire, but further testing showed t...
Hawaii power utility takes responsibility for first fire on Maui, but faults county firefighters
HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii's electric utility acknowledged its power lines started a wildfire on Maui but faulted county firefighters for declaring the blaze contained and leaving the scene, only to have a second wildfire break out nearby and become t...
Maui surveys the burned wreckage caused by the deadliest US wildfire in years
WAILUKU, Hawaii (AP) — The search of the wildfire wreckage on the Hawaiian island of Maui on Thursday revealed a wasteland of burned out homes and obliterated communities as firefighters battled the stubborn blaze that has already claimed 36 l...
Hawaii couple charged with stealing IDs of dead Texas kids
HONOLULU (AP) — A U.S. defense contractor and his wife who lived for decades under the identities of two dead Texas children have been charged with identity theft and conspiring against the government, according to federal court records unsealed i...
Omicron explosion spurs nationwide breakdown of services
Ambulances in Kansas speed toward hospitals then suddenly change direction because hospitals are full. Employee shortages in New York City cause delays in trash and subway services and diminish the ranks of firefighters and emergency workers....
Mask, vaccine conflicts descend into violence and harassment
PHOENIX (AP) — The Hawaii lieutenant governor watched in horror as protesters showed up outside his condo, yelled at him through bullhorns and beamed strobe lights into the building to harass him over vaccine requirements. A parent in Northern C...
Hospitals run low on nurses as they get swamped with COVID
The rapidly escalating surge in COVID-19 infections across the U.S. has caused a shortage of nurses and other front-line staff in virus hot spots that can no longer keep up with the flood of unvaccinated patients and are losing workers to burnout and...
Robotic police dogs: Useful hounds or dehumanizing machines?
HONOLULU (AP) — If you're homeless and looking for temporary shelter in Hawaii's capital, expect a visit from a robotic police dog that will scan your eye to make sure you don't have a fever. That's just one of the ways public safety agencies are sta...
Tourist dies in ocean in while defying Hawaii quarantine
HONOLULU (AP) — A tourist from Oklahoma who was supposed to be obeying Hawaii's 14-day quarantine for travelers arriving to the state, was pronounced dead after he was found unresponsive in the ocean. The Honolulu medical examiner's office i...
Case of missing children tied to doomsday beliefs, 3 deaths
HONOLULU (AP) — Family members used to describe Lori Vallow as an attentive mother who had her kids' best interests at heart. But that was before she reportedly declared herself a god sent to prepare the world for an imminent apocalypse. Before three...
Pearl Harbor shooting unfolded in 23 seconds in packed area
HONOLULU (AP) — The U.S. Navy sailor who fatally shot two people at Pearl Harbor before killing himself was unhappy with his commanders and had been undergoing counseling, a military official said Friday. Gabriel Romero, 22, also faced n...
Sailor kills 2 civilians, self at Pearl Harbor shipyard
PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (AP) — An active duty U.S. sailor whose submarine was docked at Pearl Harbor opened fire on three civilian employees Wednesday, killing two and then taking his own life just days before dignitaries and veterans descend on the b...
Bidders vie for Obama's high school basketball jersey
HONOLULU (AP) — Bidding was drawing to a close Friday for a basketball jersey believed to have been worn by President Barack Obama. Peter Noble was a student at a prestigious and elite Honolulu prep school when he grabbed a basketball jersey that w...
Hawaiian activists prepare for Mauna Kea telescope convoys
MAUNA KEA, Hawaii (AP) — Scientists hope the massive telescope they plan to build atop Hawaii's highest peak, a world-renowned location for astronomy, will help them peer back to the time just after the Big Bang and answer fundamental questions a...
Telescope foes tie together, block road to Hawaii summit
MAUNA KEA, Hawaii (AP) — Hundreds of demonstrators gathered Monday at the base of Hawaii's tallest mountain to protest the construction of a giant telescope on land that some Native Hawaiians consider sacred. At about daybreak, a group of kupuna, o...
Divisive telescope to restart building next week in Hawaii
HONOLULU (AP) — Construction on a giant telescope will start again next week after lengthy court battles and passionate protests from those who say building it on Hawaii's tallest mountain will desecrate land sacred to some Native Hawaiians. State o...
Son sentenced for killing, dismembering mom in Hawaii
HONOLULU (AP) — A man who admitted to killing and dismembering his mother during an argument in their Honolulu apartment has been sentenced to 30 years in prison. Yu Wei Gong was charged with murder after he called police in 2017 to turn himself i...
Soldier who tried to help terrorists gets 25-year sentence
HONOLULU (AP) — A soldier based in Hawaii was sentenced Tuesday to 25 years in prison for trying to help the Islamic State group. Sgt. 1st Class Ikaika Kang, 35, pleaded guilty in August to four counts of attempting to provide material support to a...
Islands regain some air, sea access after monster storm
Some airport and shipping access has returned to a U.S. Pacific territory ravaged by a super typhoon, but tens of thousands of residents still without power and sifting through rubble face a long road to recovery. Saipan International Airport...
US sends aid to Pacific islands devastated by huge typhoon
The federal government sent supplies to a U.S. territory in the Pacific that was ravaged by a super typhoon as residents of the Northern Mariana Islands dug through crumbled houses, smashed cars and fallen utility poles two days after the deadly stor...
Hawaii bonsai tree stolen after owner raised it for decades
HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii police are trying to find a rare bonsai tree that was stolen from a nursery owner who says he spent 56 years caring for it. The tree was taken in September from David Fukumoto's nursery in the Big Island community of M...
Scientists: 1st sighting of dolphin hybrid is no 'wholphin'
HONOLULU (AP) — Scientists are touting the first sighting of a hybrid between a melon-headed whale and a rough-toothed dolphin in the ocean off Hawaii. But don't call it a "wholphin," they say. The melon-headed whale is one of the various species t...
Eruption of lava continues from vent in Hawaii neighborhood
HONOLULU (AP) — A Hawaii volcano continues to erupt from a vent in a Big Island community, sending a stream of lava toward the ocean. Twenty-four vents, or fissures, have opened up in a mostly rural district of the island since May 3. Scientists s...
Hawaii volcano lava destroys hundreds of homes overnight
HONOLULU (AP) — Lava from Hawaii's Kilauea volcano destroyed hundreds more homes overnight, overtaking two oceanfront communities that were advised to evacuate last week, officials said Tuesday. No injuries were reported as most residents heeded a...