Good evening, Hawaii. Here are the main stories we've been following today:
Your Weather Planner
Trade winds will turn from the east-southeast beginning Tuesday through the end of the week and gradually weaken after today. High Surf Advisories and Warnings for north and west-facing shores are in effect until Monday evening. A cold front moves through the islands this weekend, which should increase local rain chances.
Watch the latest news from across the country.
Today's Big Stories
On Monday around 2:30 a.m., Kilauea volcano started erupting within Halemaumau crater in the summit caldera.
About two hours later, lava fountains on the floor of the southwest part of the summit caldera were seen with heights up to 262 feet. The vents ejected “lava bombs,” which landed up onto the west caldera rim. The surrounding area, which is within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, is closed, so it’s not considered a safety concern.
HVO lowered Kilauea’s volcano alert level from “warning” to “watch” and its aviation color code from “red” to “orange.”
However, vents continue to erupt on the floor of the summit caldera.
The high levels of volcanic gas, which can have far-reaching effects downwind of the summit, are the main hazard of concern, according to HVO. The plume of volcanic gas and fine volcanic particles is reaching elevations of 8,000 feet above sea level and winds are transporting it to the southwest, within the closed area of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
2. Bill Clinton is hospitalized with a fever but in good spirits, spokesperson says
Former President Bill Clinton was admitted Monday to MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington after developing a fever.
The 78-year-old was hospitalized in the “afternoon for testing and observation," Angel Urena, Clinton's deputy chief of staff, said in a statement.
“He remains in good spirits and deeply appreciates the excellent care he is receiving,” Urena said.
3. Landon McNamara wins Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational
Landon McNamara won first place at the Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational on Sunday. He won $50,000 and 350,000 Hawaiian Airlines miles.
The winner of the "Best Wave" award also went to McNamara, who earned a perfect score for the ride (in the video below) and won an additional 250,000 Hawaiian miles. It was the first time the same person won the "Best Wave" and placed first in the competition. He is also the first goofy-foot surfer to win.
McNamara's win makes it the third time in a row that an Oahu North Shore surfer has won. North Shore lifeguard Luke Shepardson won in 2023 and John John Florence won in 2016.
California surfer Greg Long won the “Aloha Spirit” award, which comes with $2,500. He was the winner of the competition in 2009. Earlier, he said this would be his last Eddie.
The prestigious surf contest — known as the “Super Bowl of surfing” — could only take place if wave heights at Waimea Bay were at least 20 feet on the Hawaiian scale, which measures from the back, between December 14, 2024 through March 13, 2025.
4. Honolulu Civil Beat: A year after her daughter’s killing, a mother fights for change
Theresa Cachuela called 911 at least three times in the weeks before she was killed by her husband in a Central Oʻahu mall parking garage.
In one call after midnight on Dec. 10, 2023, the 33-year-old screamed and told the Honolulu Police Department dispatcher her husband was chasing her in his car on Kapolei Parkway in Ewa Beach.
Cachuela later told the dispatcher she saw officers at a nearby roadblock — on Geiger Road and Kamakana Street — and would pull over to ask for assistance.
In the 911 calls, obtained by Civil Beat last week through a public records request, a man says, “Miss, tell me what’s going on,” before Cachuela replies, “My husband was chasing me,” her voice rising in panic.
“I have a TRO against him,” she says, using the acronym for temporary restraining order, before the call ended.
Cachuela’s mother, Lucita Ani-Nihoa, has kept most of this to herself for a year while she grieved. Last week she was ready. In an interview with Civil Beat, she said her daughter told her the officers at the roadblock responded to her plea for help by telling her to go home.
It was one of many times Ani-Nihoa says the system failed her daughter as she sought help getting away from her husband, Jason Cachuela, before he fatally shot her and then himself on Dec. 22 last year at Pearlridge Center in ʻAiea.
“She was ignored by who we thought would protect her,” Ani-Nihoa said. “She couldn’t even move forward because she was discouraged at every corner that she tried.”
Honolulu police spokeswoman Michelle Yu said officers responded to all of Cachuela’s 911 calls and met with her at least once.
Yu would not say what action they took, including at the roadblock. A police report on the murder investigation is expected to be finalized next month.
Click the link above to read the full story.
5. ESPN Events moves Diamond Head Classic hoops to Thanksgiving week, adds women's component
“Feast Week” just got a little more stuffed.
ESPN Events, the operator of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic, is moving the University of Hawaii’s nationally televised men’s basketball tournament to Thanksgiving week starting in 2025, it announced on Monday.
In addition, there will be a women’s tournament component starting next year featuring the Rainbow Wahine basketball team, ESPN Events said in a news release.
Dates have not been announced for the shifted men’s event and new women’s event.
The Diamond Head Classic is one of 10 college basketball events run by ESPN Events, but that number will apparently increase.
“Women’s sports is exploding,” Garvin said. “I think (with) the popularity of women’s basketball, it just made sense to try to put both together. I think it’s better for the university, better for the community to have both teams involved.”
Your Notes for the Christmas holiday
Tuesday, Dec. 24
- Christmas Eve
- NASA's Parker Space Probe passes the sun, where it is designed to make measurements of the solar environment
- Traditional Christmas Eve midnight mass held at the Church of the Nativity on Manger Square in the West Bank town of Bethlehem
- NORAD Tracks Santa - North American Aerospace Defense Command tracks Santa's flight on Christmas Eve, online or via phone at the NORAD Tracks Santa Operations Center
- Pope Francis presides over Christmas Eve Midnight Mass
- Pope Francis officially opens the Jubilee Year with the opening of the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica
- Washington National Cathedral Christmas Eve Services
Wednesday, Dec. 25
- Christmas Day. Traditionally marks the Biblical account of the birth of Jesus Christ
- Hanukkah (aka Chanukah), Jewish Festival of Lights, commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem after the Maccabees retook the city from the Syrian Greeks in the second century BC
- National Chanukah Menorah grand lighting ceremony, on the first night of Chanukah
- Christmas Day in Bethlehem, including morning mass at Church of Nativity
- Pope Francis delivers Christmas Day Urbi et Orbi message and blessing from St. Peter's Square balcony
- NFL games broadcast live on Netflix, with Beyoncé headlining halftime show in Houston
- Bob Dylan biopic starring Timothée Chalamet released in theaters
Thursday, Dec. 26
- Seventh biggest shopping day of the year, as predicted by Sensormatic Solutions
- 'Squid Game' returns for second season on Netflix
- 20th anniversary of a massive tsunami in the Indian Ocean killing around 230,000 people, with casualties in Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India and on several islands in the region
- Day After Christmas - called St Stephen's Day or 'Boxing Day' in some parts of the world and marked as a public holiday in some states
In Case You Missed It
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Shaka Santa and Tutu Mele at Honolulu Hale. (Photo courtesy of City and County of Honolulu)
What’s open, closed for Christmas Day
Christmas Day, a federal holiday, is celebrated annually on Dec. 25. Christmas commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ.
To mark the holiday, many county and state offices will be closed. Other county services will have adjusted schedules to observe the holiday.
Click the link above for a roundup of what's open and closed across the state.