Important Takeaways:
- Mysterious drones have been reported near military bases in Hawaii and by installations in Utah, California, Maine and Florida — among other facilities scattered throughout the country.
- It comes as residents in New York and New Jersey have reported thousands of sightings of unexplained mystery drones in the night skies.
- House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said Tuesday he believes some of the unidentified drones are “spy drones” from China.
- “We need to identify who is behind these drones,” he said. “My judgment based on my experience is that those that are over our military sites are adversarial and most likely are coming from the People’s Republic of China.”
- Sources have previously raised their concerns to The Post over Chinese landowners, who are usually linked to, or working on behalf of, the country’s communist government.
- Morgan Lerette, a former contractor for private military contractor Blackwater, previously told The Post: “The Chinese are, or will, use this farmland to learn more about US military capabilities, movements, and technology.
- “This will allow them to better understand how to transition their military from a defensive strategy to an expeditionary one.”
- Chinese holdings total under one percent of foreign-owned agricultural land in the US, per NBC, but it’s the proximity to critical military installations which raises concerns, critics have charged.
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Important Takeaways:
- An undersea volcano off the southeastern coast of the Big Island of Hawaii has been rocked by a swarm of more than 70 earthquakes since the weekend, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
- The largest earthquake has been a magnitude 4.3 event that happened just after noon, local time, on Saturday. Meanwhile, there was a magnitude 4.8 earthquake just 3 miles south of the town of Pahala early Tuesday morning. There have been no reports of injuries in any of the quakes.
- The USGS reports that although earthquake activity declined slightly around midnight, rates of earthquakes remain above background levels on Tuesday.
- Kama‘ehuakanaloa’s peak is about 3,189 feet below sea level, according to the USGS.
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Important Takeaways:
- Hone continues to weaken and is a strong tropical storm Monday after it blasted Hawaii’s Big Island as a Category 1 hurricane with flooding rain, damaging winds and dangerous waves over the weekend.
- The Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC) in Honolulu said the storm made its closest approach to the Hawaiian Islands on Sunday morning, passing about 45 miles south-southwest of South Point, Hawaii. Peak winds were estimated to be about 85 mph.
- The heavy precipitation associated with Hone had a major impact on Hawaii’s Big Island. Many areas picked up well over a foot of rain, sending water rushing down the steep slopes of the mountainous terrain and into low-lying neighborhoods. Because the ground was extremely saturated, there were also concerns about mudslides and landslides.
- More than 21 inches of rain fell across Hakalau, with Saddle Quarry receiving nearly 20 inches. Keauomo, Nene Cabin and Waiakea Uka each received more than 16 inches of rain.
- Flash Flood Warnings were issued through Sunday as heavy rain lashed the area, and forecasters estimated rainfall rates of 2 inches an hour.
- As of early Monday morning, poweroutage.us showed more than 16,500 outage reports on the Big Island.
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Important Takeaways:
- Scientists are keeping a close eye on Kilauea and a new pulse of seismic activity.
- Although the volcano is not erupting, in the past 8 hours, 200 earthquakes have been detected in the Upper East Rift Zone.
- USGS officials say this may indicate magma being supplied to the zone.
- At this time, an eruption is not imminent.
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Important Takeaways:
- New satellite images show the scale of damage almost one year after deadly wildfires ripped through the historic West Maui town Lahaina — but also show signs of a community gradually recovering.
- The wildfires on Aug. 8, 2023, were the worst natural disaster in Hawaii’s history, destroying more than 3,900 properties and killing more than 100 people, according to Hawaii officials.
- A CBS News analysis of satellite imagery shows signs of recovery but widespread damage remains.
- The first truck full of residential debris left Lahaina in January and headed toward a temporary debris storage site in West Maui, according to Col. Eric Swenson, recovery field office commander with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Since then, 98% of debris from residential properties has been cleared.
- Around 12,000 Maui residents were displaced by the wildfires, according to Hawaii officials.
- Col. Eric Swenson, recovery field office commander with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said he thinks the rebuilding efforts are creating a “sense of hope and encouragement.”
- “Whenever we get a lot cleared and I meet the resident out there, the dynamic has changed,” Swenson said. “The sorrow, the hopelessness, sometimes it fades away. And what they see on that vacant lot is, they see an opportunity. They see their future in front of them.”
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Important Takeaways:
- The Volcano Alert Level for ground-based hazards was raised from watch to warning, and the Aviation Color Code was changed from orange to red after the new eruption began around 12:30 a.m. local time (6:30 a.m. ET). Those levels have since been lowered.
- According to an alert from the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO), the Volcano Alert Level for ground-based hazards was raised from watch to warning, and the Aviation Color Code was changed from orange to red after the new eruption began around 12:30 a.m. local time (6:30 a.m. ET).
- About 8:30 a.m. local time (2:30 p.m. ET), the USGS lowered the Volcano Alert Level to a watch and the Aviation Color Code to orange. Scientists said the remote nature and low volume of the eruption prompted a lowering of alerts.
- The HVO said it would continue to monitor Kīlauea closely for signs of increasing or decreasing activity and would provide updates.
- Hazards associated with the current eruption include the release of toxic volcanic gas, which can have far-reaching effects downwind.
- In addition, vog has been observed downwind of Kīlauea and could create the potential for airborne health hazards to residents and visitors in the area, as well as cause damage to crops and other plants and injure animals.
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Important Takeaways:
- Hawaii volcano Kilauea starts erupting after two month pause as officials issue ‘red’ warning
- The Hawaiian volcano Kilauea, one of the most active of its kind in the world, has erupted after a two-month pause.
- For the third time this year, glowing orange lava could be seen bursting out of the volcano’s summit at around 3.15am yesterday.
- It is currently at a safe distance from people and buildings in a national park on the Big Island, according to experts at the Hawaii Volcano Observatory.
- But the current alert level for those on the island has been increased from ‘warning’ to ‘watch’, according to the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency.
- Due to gases released by the eruption, volcanic smog is blowing downwind of Kilauea – causing poor air quality and a ‘red’ aviation warning.
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Important Takeaways:
- Firefighters continue to battle brush fire in Wahiawa; just 50% contained
- Firefighters are continuing to battle a two-alarm brush fire in Wahiawa that’s just 50% contained, HFD told Hawaii News Now Thursday morning.
- Officials say the fire is approximately 450 acres in size.
- The Honolulu Fire Department said the 911 call came in around 4 p.m. Tuesday near Hiwi Place. This is in the area near the Kukaniloko Birth Stones — though it’s unclear how close the flames are to the cultural site.
- HFD says no homes have been threatened at this time, and no area evacuations have been made.
- Officials added that Lake Wilson is nearby and provides a natural barrier to homes
- So far, no word yet on what caused the fire. HFD says operations are ongoing.
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Important Takeaways:
- Maui’s death toll reaches 111 as searchers – many coping with their own losses – comb the wildfire zone
- “No one has ever seen this that is alive today – not this size, not this number, not this volume,” Maui Police Chief John Pelletier said Wednesday. “And we’re not done.”
- A genetics team will help identify remains, “so that we can make sure that we’re finding who our loved ones are, and that we make the notifications with dignity and honor,” Pelletier said, urging patience.
- Searches through the burn areas have expanded over the past week, with 40 canines from 15 states deployed, the Hawaii Department of Defense’s Jeff Hickman told CNN.
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Important Takeaways:
- In President Biden’s response to the devastating wildfires in Maui, we can see the reemergence of a familiar habit: to ignore, dance around and/or gaslight the public about a difficult situation — whether it’s self-inflicted or not — and respond to it only when the critiques become so deafening, they drown out all else. And the coup de grâce: to sing his own praises afterwards.
- In June 2021, Biden dismissed consumers’ concerns about the early warning signs of inflation. A few months later, Biden said it was the “difficult challenges and complications caused by COVID-19” that were “driving up costs for American families.” Those challenges and complications were in no small part driven by an ill-advised $1.9 trillion spending jubilee Biden championed and signed at the outset of his presidency.
- Biden’s roadmap for this kind of obfuscation was modeled by his handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal. He called the evacuation an “extraordinary success.”
- Last week, Biden promised the federal government would give Maui “everything it needs.” But then Sunday — whilst enjoying one of his many days at the beach — Biden was apparently too busy to comment on the devastation.
- Don’t be surprised when — not if — he eschews taking responsibility for his callousness in favor of unearned self-congratulations.
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