Category: ESTA News

In the crater of Mauna Loa on the Big Island, which erupted for the first time since 1984, three cracks have opened since the 27th, spewing steam and smoke along with red lava.

The eruption resulted in lava flowing down from the mountain.  It is reported that the erupting lava stopped just 10 miles away from the main road at the northern base.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said the maximum height of the lava fountain was “estimated to be between 100 and 200 feet (about 30 to 60 meters).”

It is known that there is no risk of human casualties from this volcanic eruption as of the 30th.

However, scientists warned that molten rock, volcanic ash, gas, and volcanic glass particles could be blown away by the wind.

The state authorities did not issue an evacuation order for residents, but only blocked the mountain top area and some roads.

Governor David Ige said, “The lava has not affected the residential area,” and added, “However, a state of emergency has been declared in order to respond promptly and restrict access when necessary.”

On the 29th, there is a strong smell of volcanic gas and sulfur in the air, but it is known that onlookers who want to see the lava flow (a phenomenon in which lava flows down the terrain) a little closer come to the other side of Saddle Road.

Mauna Loa is one Hawaii’s six active volcanoes and is recorded as the largest in the world. The last time the volcano, Mauna Loa erupted was in 1984, the eruption lasted for 22 days.

Although the proportion of vaccine recipients among corona19 deaths in the United States exceeded half for the first time, the Washington Post (WP) reported on the 23rd that vaccines are still effective in reducing mortality.

According to an analysis commissioned by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), a non-profit foundation, 58% of those who died of Corona 19 in the United States in August had completed the first and second vaccinations or booster shots (additional vaccinations).

In September of last year, the number of inoculated people accounted for only 23% of all deaths, but in January and February this year, it increased to 42% and is on the rise.

Experts, including Cynthia Cox, vice president of the non-profit Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), said the trend was not surprising.

First, as the spread of Corona 19 is prolonged, the number of vaccinated people is now greater than that of unvaccinated people, so the probability of deaths being vaccinated has increased.

Those who are most at risk of dying from Corona 19, such as the elderly, are more actively vaccinated.

And since vaccines lose their ability to stop the virus over time, booster shots are needed to maintain resistance.  That doesn’t mean vaccines aren’t effective.

The WP reported that the effectiveness of the vaccine is remarkable when comparing the mortality rates of vaccinated and non-vaccinated people by age group.

According to the CDC, as of August, the risk of death from Corona 19 in unvaccinated people aged 65-79 was 9 times higher than that of vaccinated people, 3 times higher in 18-29 years old, 5 times higher in 30-49 years old, and 6 times higher in 50-64 years old.

Those over 50 who were hit with at least two booster shots had a three-fold reduced risk of dying than those who were hit with only one booster shot. However, Americans are passive about additional vaccinations.

The United States released a booster shot specialized for sub-variants of Omicron last September, but so far, about 35 million people have been vaccinated, which is only about 10% of the total population.

The US government is conducting a six-week campaign until the end of the year to increase the vaccination rate.

A tragic incident occurred when a barber was shot and killed while cutting a child’s hair.

According to Puyallup Police, an 8-year-old boy was cut by a barber at the JQ barbershop at 112 East Stewart Avenue, Puyallup, around 5:00 p.m. on the 30th.

The victim, whose name has not been released, is said to be a 43-year-old owner of the barbershop.

There were an 8-year-old boy, his mother, another barber and a customer inside the barbershop at the time, but no one was injured.

Police are investigating the possibility of killing the target, as no items were stolen from the store and the shooting was aimed at the victim.

According to eyewitnesses, the suspect was about 5 feet 8 inches tall and was dressed in all black at the time.

The police ask residents who work or live near the scene of the incident to check the CCTV to see if there is a person with a similar appearance to the suspect and report it (Police 253-770-3343).

Twenty-four ballots were dumped on Highway 17 and authorities are investigating.

Local and federal investigators are investigating whether a ballot dumped near Highway 17 and Sugarloaf Road in Scotts Valley, 20 south of San Jose, is simple mail theft or an attempt to sabotage an election.

On the morning of the 12th, Julie Nieman, who was on her way to work, found these ballots that were soaked in mud and water and discarded like trash, and it was reported that she delivered them to the USPS. “Someone cut off the edge of the envelope with scissors and took out the ballot paper that was inside,” Nieman said.

One of the discarded ballots was identified as belonging to San Jose voter Lou Witkin. Mr. Witkin said, “I sent the ballot by mail on the 6th, and it was found here on the 11th,” and said, “The authorities will figure out the problem and explain it.”

The Santa Clara County Department of Elections said the discarded ballots were lost while they were in the possession of the postal service, and that they are consulting with county legal counsel as to whether they can count the ballots or whether they should be legally disposed of.

Amazon, the world’s largest e-commerce company known to be cutting 10,000 jobs, the largest ever, has begun restructuring its workforce by notifying its employees of layoffs.

Dave Limp, senior vice president of Amazon’s devices and services division, sent a memo to employees on the 16th, saying, “After review, the company has decided to integrate some teams and programs in the devices and services division.”

“We started notifying affected employees yesterday (the 15th),” he continued. “One of the decisions to consolidate was due to the determination that some roles are no longer needed.”

“It is painful to announce this news and to lose talented employees with this decision,” he wrote.

“Some team adjustments are being made,” Amazon said, “because certain positions are no longer needed.”

The total number of layoffs may be somewhat flexible, but the job cuts are the largest ever for Amazon, according to the NYT.

It is known that this restructuring will focus on the technical and retail sectors, as well as the personnel department.

New cloud gaming divisions such as Luna and Alexa Team, a voice assistant service, were also included in the restructuring target.

The number of employees has doubled in two years, but future performance is expected to fall short of market expectations due to concerns about the economic downturn.

When Amazon announced its third-quarter earnings last month, it expected fourth-quarter revenue to be between $140 billion and $148 billion. This was evaluated as falling far short of the market forecast of $155.15 billion.

As a result, the stock price plummeted, and the market capitalization also fell below 1 trillion dollars in 31 months.

Hilton Hawaiian Village, the largest resort complex in Waikiki, is preparing for expansion.

Construction of the 515-room, 36-story Ala Moana Boulevard Tower (AMB Tower) is expected to begin in 2024 or 2025 if permits are granted as planned.

Estimated construction period is about 30 months.  The construction site is a plot next to the Crand Waikikian Tower, the site of the former Japanese-style steakhouse Kobe Restaurant.

The construction cost has not yet been disclosed, but it is expected to be described in the Supplemental Environmental Impact Report (SEIS).

Park Hotels & Resorts, which owns the Hilton Hawaiian Village, said an additional environmental impact report would be published around December.

The total construction cost is 420 million dollars, and there are 418 rooms. When the AMB Tower is built, the entire Hilton Village will expand by approximately 0.5 acres.

According to a report by Star Advertiser, Park Hotels & Resorts purchased the largest section of the site for $5.2 million in 2018.

The Kobe restaurant building was owned by ABC Store affiliates.

It is said that an ABC Mart store is also planned to be in the AMB Tower.

There are various opinions regarding this construction plan.

Waikiki Improvement Association President Rick Egd said in a statement that the construction of the AMB Tower is a process of replacing the current aging building with a state-of-the-art technology that will make the entrance to Waikiki more attractive.

On the other hand, the Waikiki Residents’ Association is said to be opposed to the construction of the AMB Tower for reasons such as population density, increased traffic congestion, and lack of parking.

However, Bob Finley, chairman of the Waikiki Residents’ Association, said that the residents’ association had not yet announced an official position, and explained that there would be more opportunities for residents to review the construction plan.

In addition, it is known that some point out that the right to sunlight is violated or that the sea level rise is insufficient.

Park Hotels & Resorts senior vice president Jonathan Puiz said the AMB Tower will increase Waikiki’s visitor capacity and improve traffic by keeping visitors within the Hilton Village grounds.

Norman Hong, chairman of Group 70 International Inc (G70), a construction company that will be in charge of constructing the AMB tower, said that drainage problems and infrastructure improvements will be implemented in accordance with city and state regulations.

Finley, chairman of the Waikiki Residents Association, explained that Park Hotels & Resorts’ water saving system has the same idea and direction as the Waikiki Residents Association.

In addition, he added that it is true that additional hotels are needed because the short-term rental business regulation strengthening law (Law 22-7) recently entered into force by the city government can increase the demand for accommodation by short-term visitors.

Hawaii Hotel Association (HHA) President Jerry Gibson said the AMB Tower will be able to increase visitor capacity in Waikiki, the heart of the tourism industry, and will be able to mitigate illegal short-term rentals.

While the midterm elections in the United States held on the 8th were generally going smoothly, in some regions, the voting was disrupted due to problems such as malfunctioning machines, CNN broadcast and other American media reported.

In Mercer County, New Jersey, countywide voting machines broke down, causing problems printing and scanning ballots. As a result, voters cast their votes manually rather than using machines.

The counting of the counting results in this county is likely to be delayed due to a breakdown in the voting machine.

The county said in an email to CNN that “may be delayed due to machine failure, but we plan to ensure that all voters can vote.”

In Bell County, Texas, technical problems had caused voting to be delayed by an hour. The clocks of some machines for checking voters were out of sync, making them unavailable at some polling places.

In Maricopa County, Arizona, more than 20 percent of the voting machines are malfunctioning or not working, officials said.

Due to the problem that some machines did not recognize the ballot, the county decided to count the ballot separately after storing it in a locker at the polling place.

In Champaign County, Illinois, the website was hacked and the process of verifying voter information was delayed for a while.

In Louisiana, polling places were moved due to bomb threats.

The state of Louisiana said the polling station was moved to a nearby elementary school after a Cana Discovery School outside New Orleans was threatened.

Earlier, the school was threatened with a bomb attack five days ago, and middle and high school students were evacuated, local police said.

In Westband, Wisconsin, a 38-year-old man was arrested by police after threatening polling workers with a knife and demanding that they “stop voting”.

In Johns Creek, Georgia, it was revealed on social media shortly after voting began that a mother and child who worked as a polling station worker had participated in a raid on the Capitol on January 6 last year, and authorities suspended their work and sent them out of the polling station.

In Beaumont, Texas, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored Persons (NAACP) sued and a court ordered a ban on voting because polling station workers made it harder to identify black voters and stood right behind them while they voted. did.

The city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, one of the most contested sites for the U.S. Senate, also decided to go through a verification process this morning to prevent voters from voting twice.

The process, which compares the vote-by-mail ballot with the on-site voter roster at the polling place to ensure that the voter is not voting twice, could delay counting, US media reported.

Previously, a Republican group had filed a lawsuit alleging that Philadelphia reduced the verification process and increased the likelihood of double voting, but the court dismissed it.

Additionally, in Lucerne County, Pennsylvania, voting was delayed until 10 p.m. as ballots could not be printed due to insufficient ballots.

In North Carolina and Georgia, some polling places opened late and extended deadlines.

The US State Department condemned North Korea’s first launch of a short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) near South Korea’s territorial waters south of the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the East Sea for the first time since division as a “reckless decision.”

“The United States condemns North Korea’s launch of a ballistic missile and its reckless decision to launch a missile beyond the de facto maritime boundary,” a State Department spokesperson said in a statement to Yonhap News Agency. It is a violation of the resolution and threatens the peace and stability of the region.”

“The United States continues to pursue sincere and consistent dialogue with North Korea, but North Korea refuses to engage,” he said.

“The United States will work closely with its allies and partners to limit North Korea’s illegal weapons development and security threats in the region,” he added.

The Indo-Pacific Command, which oversees U.S. Forces Korea, also issued a statement saying, “We are aware of North Korean missile launches and are in close discussions with our allies and partners.” It shows the reckless decisions of the

Earlier, North Korea fired about 25 missiles in a row on four occasions, including a short-range ballistic missile launched south of the NLL in the East Sea.

State Department spokeswoman Ned Price said at a press briefing in the afternoon that “worries about the possibility of further provocations by North Korea have not subsided.”

“There will be additional costs and consequences, and North Korea will face global condemnation,” Price said. did,” he explained.

White House National Security Council (NSC) Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby also reaffirmed the U.S. government’s position at a briefing, saying, “We condemn North Korea’s reckless decision to launch a missile into South Korea’s waters, in fact, south of the maritime border.”

“It does not change that we want to discuss the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula with North Korea without preconditions,” he said. It was altitude.

“In a situation where diplomatic progress is impossible, we will maintain a high military readiness posture,” Kirby said.

Earlier, US Secretary of State Tony Blincoln and Foreign Minister Park Jin strongly condemned North Korea’s missile launches and expressed their deep concern over the escalation of provocations in a separate call after North Korea’s series of missile launches.

In the phone call, Secretary Blincol reaffirmed that the defense promise to South Korea was ironclad and stressed the need for the international community to unite to hold North Korea accountable for its continued provocations, Price said.

“Through a visit to Asia during the G20 summit later this month, Secretary Blincoln will have the opportunity to hold bilateral and trilateral consultations on threats from South Korea, Japan and North Korea,” Price added.

“We will continue to emphasize the importance of the triangular alliance with South Korea and Japan to jointly respond to key North Korean challenges,” he said. emphasized.

A warning has been issued that a so-called ‘Triple+Pandemic’ could come in the United States this winter, in which Corona 19, the flu, and the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) all spread all at once.

The New York Times reported on the 23rd that as quarantine rules loosened, flu and RSV are spreading rapidly, and new mutations of COVID-19 are also appearing.

The New York Times reported that the flu, which usually starts in October, is spreading earlier than usual.

In fact, as of the 8th, the influenza infection rate in the United States was 3%, but in some southeastern regions it exceeded 10%. In New York, the flu started earlier than usual.

According to the State Department of Health, there were 596 confirmed flu cases in New York State in the month of September, nearly quadrupling from 150 a year earlier.

The spread of RSV, which has symptoms like COVID-19 or flu, is also rapid.

In some states, such as Massachusetts and Illinois, a red flag came in as the capacity of pediatric beds was insufficient due to a surge in RSV patients. In the United States, RSV kills approximately 14,000 people over the age of 65 and up to 300 children under the age of 5 each year.

Another strain that has much better immune evasion ability than the Corona 19 Omicron BA.5 strain is heralding a pandemic this winter.

Medical experts warn that each disease does not cause serious symptoms, but if they become epidemics at the same time, the number of infected people will increase and put pressure on medical capacity.

Experts say that the COVID-19 and flu vaccines do not provide 100% protection against infection, but they are still the best defense.

Meanwhile, new data released by the CDC last week showed that 10 counties in upstate New York had high levels of COVID-19 infection. This number reached a whopping 20% ​​of counties classified as high in the country.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said that it has identified the cause of the seaplane crash that took the lives of all 10 people on board off the coast of Whitby Island last month. requested to be banned.

NTSB Chairman Jennifer Homendi said the most important thing for now is to ensure that the DHC-3 ‘Otter’ turboprop seaplane, which is the accident model, does not cause the same tragedy in the future due to the same cause. described as work.

Chairman Homendi said that when experts inspected the wreckage of the salvaged plane, it was found that an important part of the horizontal tail wing, which controls the plane’s altitude, had fallen off. said to have concluded.

She added that there was a possibility that there was a problem with the maintenance of the plane, saying that several people have seen the plane, which had lost its horizontal tail function, plummeted at great speed, and was thrown into the sea.

She urged all airlines that own Otter aircraft not to operate them until safety has been confirmed.

Seattle-based Kenmore Airlines, which owns 10 Otter aircraft, said it had detected a vulnerability in the aircraft and had already completed safety checks last week, and said service had not been disrupted.

The DHC-3 Otter aircraft that caused the accident is one of a total of 466 manufactured by De Havilland Canada from the 1950s to 1967, owned by Renton-based Friday Harbor Seaplanes. There are currently 65 of these aging planes in service in the United States and 160 around the world.

Friday Harbor Seaplanes have transported tourists and commuters from Renton’s Lake Washington shores to San Wan Island and Canada on these planes.

Meanwhile, the FAA said that it is in close contact with the Canadian Ministry of Transport, which approved the Otter model, and that it will take appropriate measures based on the actions of the Canadian authorities and the maintenance rules of the Otter model manufacturer.