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☆ Report finds ‘no evidence’ Hawaii officials prepared for Maui wildfire that killed 102 despite warnings
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-14 | by ( Associated Press | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Honolulu (AP) — Investigators reviewing the emergency response to last year’s wildfire that killed 102 people on Maui said in a report released Friday they found “no evidence” Hawaii officials made preparations for it, despite days of warnings that critical fire weather was coming. The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency didn’t immediately respond with comment. Maui fire commanders discussed the forecast, but “no evidence of pre-event preparedness plans by the MFD were produced,” the report said. Maui County and the state use private contractors to help fight fires with water tankers and heavy equipment. And despite the warnings, the heads of the county emergency management agency and the Maui Fire Department were off-island that day, attending conferences in Honolulu.

Persons: —, Anne Lopez, Maui’s, Richard Bissen, Hawaii Emergency Management Agency didn’t, weren’t, Firefighters, ” Derek Alkonis Organizations: — Investigators, National Weather Service, Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, Maui Fire Department, Maui Police, Hawaiian Electric Co, Firefighters, Fire Safety Research Institute, Maui Police Department Locations: Honolulu, Maui, Hawaii, Lahaina, State, Maui County, West Maui

☆ U.S. Releases Navy Officer Imprisoned After Causing Fatal Crash in Japan
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-14 | by ( Lola Fadulu | More About Lola Fadulu | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

He had served half of his three-year sentence in Japan and was expected to serve the rest of it in the United States, with an American agency deciding the length of his incarceration. That agency, the U.S. Parole Commission, ruled on Friday that he had already served a long-enough sentence. Lieutenant Alkonis “fell asleep” at the wheel, according to an accident report obtained by The New York Times. Lieutenant Alkonis pleaded guilty to negligent driving in an effort to receive a suspended sentence. At trial he said he had been suffering from “acute mountain sickness” just before the accident, but a judge disagreed.

Persons: Ridge, Alkonis, Alkonis “, ” Organizations: Navy, U.S . Parole Commission, of Prisons, Yokosuka, Toyota, Mount Fuji, The New York Times Locations: United States, Japan, Tokyo

Washington CNN —A pair of Democratic lawmakers from California have asked President Joe Biden to once again raise the case of a US Navy officer jailed in Japan with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida while at the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima. Lieutenant Alkonis’ case remains stalled in the Japanese system,” the pair wrote. Biden raised the Alkonis case with Kishida during the prime minister’s visit to the White House in January, and the two countries agreed to establish a working group to solve the problem. “I’m not doing that good,” he wrote in a letter dated April 30, which was shared with CNN. “Lieutenant Alkonis’ service records make clear that he is an extraordinary officer, and we believe he deserves better,” the Democratic lawmakers wrote.

“I’m not doing that good,” Lt. Ridge Alkonis wrote in a letter dated April 30, which was shared with CNN. “The walls and bars seem to be making my cell even smaller as of late.”“I feel closer to an animal than a human being now,” Ridge Alkonis wrote. “That was the most dejected I’ve ever heard him,” his wife, Brittany Alkonis, told CNN on Thursday. As such, despite her hope for positive movement coming out the G7 trip to Hirsoshima, Brittany Alkonis said she does not have high expectations of a resolution. But based on Japan’s response, it doesn’t seem that they do think it’s a big deal,” Brittany Alkonis said.

☆ GOP Sen. Mike Lee's 'based' personal Twitter account briefly suspended after he tweeted at Japanese prime minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Twitter suspended "BasedMikeLee," Utah GOP Sen. Mike Lee's personal account, on Wednesday. "My personal Twitter account – @BasedMikeLee – has been suspended," the senator wrote on his official Twitter account, saying the company "did not alert me ahead of time, nor have they yet offered an explanation for the suspension. "This account is no cap — bussin, forreal forreal," Lee tweeted that same day. After a midnight deadline previously set by Lee passed early Wednesday morning, Lee tweeted again. "You've made your choice," tweeted Lee.

☆ Biden, Kishida to discuss Japan ‘stepping up’ security
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

The Oval Office meeting and signing ceremony at NASA’s Washington headquarters will cap a weeklong tour for Kishida that took him to five European and North American capitals for talks on his effort to beef up Japan’s security. Japan’s defense spending has historically remained below 1% of GDP. “Japan is stepping up and doing so in lockstep with the United States,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said. Kishida also discussed with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and French President Emmanuel Macron his hopes to improve security cooperation between Japan and their respective nations. “Those days are gone.”Biden administration officials have praised Japan for stepping up in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

☆ Biden and Kishida discuss Japan ‘stepping up’ security
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Inside the Oval Office, the U.S. president praised Japan for its "historic" increase in defense spending and pledged close cooperation on economic and security matters. Japan's defense spending has historically remained below 1% of GDP. "Japan is stepping up and doing so in lockstep with the United States," White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said. Kishida also discussed with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and French President Emmanuel Macron his hopes to improve security cooperation between Japan and their respective nations. Kishida met with Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday before his meeting with Biden to discuss U.S.-Japan space cooperation and other issues.

☆ The U.S. Navy’s Stranded Lieutenant
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Japan’s new defense strategy warns that Asia is facing the most challenging security environment since World War II. So it’s worth asking for Tokyo’s help in mending a growing rift by returning a U.S. Navy lieutenant locked up in a Japanese prison. Lt. Ridge Alkonis, assigned to the guided-missile destroyer the USS Benfold in Yokosuka, was driving his family back from a trip to Mt. Lt. Alkonis is a Mormon and doesn’t drink, and his wife and young children were in the car in broad daylight. Jonathan Franks , a spokesman for the family, says a Navy neurologist said that Lt. Alkonis had suffered acute mountain sickness.

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