Mar-a-Lago manager latest Trump staffer in legal turmoil
NEW YORK — A longtime Mar-a-Lago staffer who spent years fetching luxury cars for wealthy club members is the latest person to be ensnared in former President Donald Trump ‘s ballooning legal troubles.
Long COVID symptoms are focus of new treatment studies
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Institutes of Health is beginning a handful of studies to test possible treatments for long COVID, an anxiously awaited step in U.S. efforts against the mysterious condition that afflicts millions.
Trump PAC has spent $40+ million on lawyers’ fees
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Former President Donald Trump ‘s mounting legal woes are growing more expensive, leading his political operation to shell out tens of millions of dollars for attorneys’ fees, request a large refund from a supportive super PAC and launch a new legal defense fund.
Russian missiles kills 6 in Zelenskyy’s hometown
KYIV, Ukraine — Russian ballistic missiles slammed into an apartment complex and a university building in President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s hometown Monday, killing six people and wounding 75 others as the blasts trapped residents beneath rubble, Ukrainian officials said.
Australia welcomes lifting of UNESCO Great Barrier Reef threat
CANBERRA, Australia — The Australian government on Tuesday welcomed a draft UNESCO decision to a lift a threat of downgrading the Great Barrier Reef to an endangered World Heritage site.
Discovery of a whale carcass in Hong Kong sparks anger
HONG KONG — The discovery of a whale carcass in Hong Kong waters Monday sparked an outpouring of grief on social media, with many comments blaming the mammal’s death on sightseers.
Rebounding Pope Francis adds an overnight visit to France
ROME — Pope Francis will make a two-day trip to Marseille, France, in late September, adding to a flurry of trips the 86-year-old pontiff will soon be making only weeks after leaving hospital following abdominal surgery.
IS claims responsibility for the bombing in Pakistan
KHAR, Pakistan — An Afghan branch of the Islamic State group on Monday claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in Pakistan that killed at least 54 people at a pro-Taliban party’s election rally, in one of the region’s worst attacks in recent years.
Thousands experience historic Koloa Plantation Days parade and celebration
Several thousand people braved the misting rains on Saturday morning to enjoy the historic Koloa Plantation Days parade and adjacent park celebration that effectively wrapped up the 10-day celebration of history and festivities celebrating Koloa and Po‘ipu.
Happy Camper for Monday, July 31, 2023
Hard Ice and a Kaua‘i version of GuriGuri from Da Booze Shop were just some of the offerings at the last bon dance on the Kaua‘i Buddhist Council 2023 calendar at the Waimea Higashi Hongwanji.
County providing liquor businesses with Narcan
LIHU‘E — The Kaua‘i Department of Liquor Control announced it is making the overdose-reversing drug Narcan available to all liquor licensees on the island in an effort to reduce opioid-related deaths.
Obituary for Monday, July 31, 2023
• Mark G. ‘Maka’ Chandler
Waimea Public Library reopens after 18-month renovation project
WAIMEA — Waimea Public Library Branch Manager Michelle Young read “Not A Box” by Antoinette Portis on Friday during the Waimea Public Library reopening celebration that was attended by special guestzs — Hawai‘i State Librarian Stacey Aldrich and Senate President Ron Kouchi.
Ukay Vintage celebrates pop-up
LIHU‘E — Rainbeau Jo’s said on Saturday that the concept of thrifting is very popular on the mainland.
Road lane closures for July 30 – Aug. 5
LIHU‘E — A number of lane and shoulder closures are scheduled this week on Kaua‘i with the primary emphasis in Wailua, according to a weekly advisory from the Hawai‘i Department of Transportation.
Congress breaks with no path to avoiding fall shutdown
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Lawmakers broke for their August recess this week with work on funding the government largely incomplete, fueling worries about whether Congress will be able to avoid a partial government shutdown this fall.
Two supermoons in August mean double the stargazing fun
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The cosmos is offering up a double feature in August: a pair of supermoons culminating in a rare blue moon.
30 days over 110 F in Phoenix, monsoon rains could cool
PHOENIX — A historic heat wave that has gripped the U.S. Southwest throughout July, blasting residents and baking surfaces like brick, is beginning to abate with the late arrival of monsoon rains.
Water is refreshing in the heat, not so much in Florida
KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. — In the sweltering summer heat, nobody tries to cool off by jumping into a hot tub. In parts of Florida, however, that’s what the ocean has felt like.
Marines recruiting surges while other services struggle
PARRIS ISLAND, S.C. — Not long ago, Marine Col. Jennifer Nash, a combat engineer with war deployments under her belt, made a vow to fellow officers as they headed to a dinner in Atlanta: She would get two new recruiting contacts by the end of the evening.
Ukraine moves Christmas Day, denouncing Russian traditions
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday signed a law moving the official Christmas Day holiday to Dec. 25 from Jan. 7, the day when the Russian Orthodox Church observes it.
Wagner mercenaries move closer to the Polish border
WARSAW, Poland — Over 100 mercenaries belonging to the Russian-linked Wagner group in Belarus have moved close to the border with Poland, the Polish prime minister said Saturday.
Flag carried by Japanese soldier killed in WWII returned
TOKYO — Toshihiro Mutsuda was only 5 years old when he last saw his father, who was drafted by Japan’s Imperial Army in 1943 and killed in action. For him, his father was a bespectacled man in an old family photo standing by a signed good-luck flag that he carried to war.
India cuts rice exports, triggering panic-buying
NEW YORK — Chatter on one of Prabha Rao’s WhatsApp groups exploded last week when India announced that it was severely curtailing some rice exports to the rest of the world, triggering worry among the Indian diaspora in the United States that access to a food staple from home might soon be cut off.
Pope Francis adds an overnight visit to France
ROME — Pope Francis will make a two-day trip to Marseille, France, in late September, adding to a flurry of trips the 86-year-old pontiff will soon be making only weeks after leaving hospital following abdominal surgery.