Hawaii

What does National Geographic consider the best island in the world? Tahiti? Capri, Italy? Lord Howe Island, Australia? Nope. According to its recent book, "The 10 Best of Everything," it's actually Nantucket, which takes the coveted spot in the ten best islands category.  Nantucket? No disrespect to the Massachusetts hotspot, but it seems a bit of an odd choice on a list that doesn't even include Hawaii, the Virgin Islands, or the Bahamas. Travel writer Leslie Thomas came up with the list for National Geographic and had the following to say about...

Arizona's secretary of state said Wednesday that Hawaii's official verification of President Barack Obama's birth records meets necessary requirements, meaning the president's name will appear on Arizona's ballot in the fall. The inquiry launched recently by Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett gave official weight to a long-simmering political controversy generated by those who say that Obama was not born in the U.S. and therefore is ineligible to hold the nation's highest office.

HONOLULU - China’s Hainan Airlines has received approval to begin service from Beijing to Hawaii. The US Department of Transportation approved the flights, which initially will be once per week. The trips probably will not begin until early next year. The airline, which is privately owned, already flies four times a week from China to Seattle. State tourism officials are lauding the approval. They hope the flights will bring more visitors to Hawaii, where tourism has fallen sharply.

Authorities say a retired Los Angeles Police Department detective has been arrested in Hawaii in the death of his wife six years ago. A Hawaii County prosecutor tells KHON that Dan DeJarnette pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder during his arraignment Tuesday. The Los Angeles Times says DeJarnette was taken into custody Monday night at his home on the Big Island in connection with the slaying of his wife, Yu DeJarnette. The former detective said at the time of his wife's 2006 death that he had awakened and found her lying on a lava embankment about 20 feet from the...

Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury had no excuses for either the loss or the conduct of his players. Zane Johnson had 19 points and eight rebounds to lead Hawaii over shorthanded Mississippi State, 68-57, in the fifth-place game of the Diamond Head Classic yesterday, the first game for the Bulldogs since they suspended two players for fighting in the stands. The Rainbow Warriors (9-3) controlled the inside and the game with Bulldogs’ top big men Renardo Sidney and Elgin Bailey suspended indefinitely.

HONOLULU - A National Transportation Board Safety investigator was due to arrive in Hawaii yesterday to begin looking into why a tour helicopter slammed into a ridge on Molokai island, killing the pilot and four tourists on board. A preliminary report typically would come within a week or two, but it could be months before the probable cause of the crash is determined. The Blue Hawaiian Helicopters flight was on a 45-minute tour of west Maui and Molokai when it crashed around midday Thursday.

Hawaii made a short side trip a long day for No. 4 Michigan State. Matt Lojeski and Julian Sensley each scored 20 points for the Rainbow Warriors in an 84-62 victory in Honolulu that ended the Spartans' streak of season-opening wins at 28. Michigan State, the first member of the preseason Top 10 to lose this season, was hampered by poor shooting and leg cramps. The Spartans stopped off on Oahu on the way to Maui Invitational that starts tomorrow and will see them play three games in as many days.

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Colt Brennan's injured right ankle was healthy enough to lead a thrilling comeback that resuscitated any hopes Hawaii might have had at a Bowl Championship Series bid. Brennan rallied Hawaii from 14 points down in the final 4 minutes by scoring the tying touchdown on a 2-yard run with 31 seconds left in regulation, then threw an 8-yard scoring pass to Jason Rivers on the first possession of overtime to give the Warriors a...

HONOLULU - With the nation's Feb. 17 shutdown of analog TV signals in doubt, federal regulators will be closely watching what happens today in Hawaii, when the state makes the move early because of an endangered bird. As Hawaii scrambles to become the first state to go all digital, hundreds of people have been calling support lines for help and zipping digital converter boxes off store shelves. Volunteers and contractors are making house calls to residents who were struggling to hook up the converter box. The boxes sell for $50 to $70. By noon, all stations should be...

The LPGA is returning to Hawaii. The tour announced Thursday that the Lotte Championship Presented by J Golf will be played on Oahu starting in mid-April, ending a two-year absence for the LPGA in Michelle Wie's home state. The LPGA and Asia-based Lotte announced a three-year agreement to hold the $1.7 million, full-field event. LPGA says the host course will be announced in the coming weeks. Hawaii, which hosts two PGA Tour events, hosted as many as three LPGA events in 2008 but that fell to none by 2010 because of the loss of corporate sponsorships amid the recession.

Hawaii officials say the state's tax revenues are up nearly 13 percent for the first 10 months of the fiscal year through April. Department of Taxation Director Frederick Pablo says the state's general fund now has more than $4 million after more than $500,000 was raised in April. The fiscal year ends in June. Nearly half the state's funds for April, more than $245,000 came from general excise and use taxes. Pablo says general excise and use taxes increased more than 8 percent during the 10 months compared with the same frame last year.

The military shot down a short-range ballistic missile off Hawaii with a new, more sensitive interceptor missile. The Missile Defense Agency says the USS Lake Erie detected and tracked the short-range missile launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai on Wednesday night. The Pearl Harbor-based guided missile cruiser then fired the interceptor, which took out the missile. The agency says the new interceptor has a two-color infrared seeker, which allows it to detect targets further away.

Hawaii's teachers union has embarked on the unprecedented move of asking its members to revisit a contract they rejected earlier this year, as part of an effort to prevent the state from losing a $75 million federal grant it received to carry out education reforms. Wil Okabe, the president of the Hawaii State Teachers Association, said Thursday that asking members to vote again on a contract they dismissed in January wasn't a decision the union's negotiators and board arrived at lightly.

NEW YORK — The NFL has made no decisions on where or when -- or if -- the 2013 Pro Bowl will be played. ESPN reported Thursday that commissioner Roger Goodell is ‘‘strongly considering" suspending the game for the upcoming season. ‘‘No determination has been made yet about this season's game," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told The Associated Press. ‘‘We have been in discussions with the union about the future of the Pro Bowl. " Goodell expressed his dissatisfaction with the low quality of play in the AFC's 59-41 win in Honolulu in January, a...

Japan's Ai Miyazato won the LPGA LOTTE Championship on Saturday for her eighth career LPGA Tour title, birdieing three of the last six holes for a 2-under 70 and a four-stroke victory. Miyazato finished at 12-under 276 at wind-swept Ko Olina. She opened with rounds of 71, 65 and 70 to take a three-stroke lead in the final round. Meena Lee, ahead early on the back nine and tied for the lead after a birdie on No. 15, had a 70 to tie for second with Azahara Munoz at 8 under.

WASHINGTON — Mitt Romney has won the Republican presidential caucuses in Hawaii, salvaging a much needed victory after resurgent rival Rick Santorum won primaries in Alabama and Mississippi on Tuesday. Romney finished a disappointing third behind Santorum and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich in the Deep South primaries. But he came back to edge out both rivals in Hawaii and added a sweep of delegates from Republican nominating caucuses in American Samoa. Texas Rep. Ron Paul finished fourth in both Southern primaries, and third in the Hawaii caucuses.

A popular Hawaii entertainer has pleaded no contest to molesting two girls in the 1990s and has been sentenced to a year in jail. A Los Angeles judge also sentenced Cecilio Rodriguez on Friday to 52 weeks of sexual-offender counseling and five years' probation. The 67-year-old Rodriguez is part of the longtime musical duo Cecilio & Kapono. He was arrested in September in Los Angeles County and charged with lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14. KHON-TV reports that both victims, sisters who are now adults, tearfully told the judge that Rodriguez violated their...

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney won races in Hawaii and American Samoa late last night. In the Hawaii caucuses, Romney won 45.4 percent of the vote, according to the Associated Press tally. Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum came in a distant second with 25.3 percent, followed by Texas Representative Ron Paul with 18.3 percent, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich with 11 percent. That means Romney will receive nine delegates, Santorum will get four, and Paul one, according to the AP. Romney will get all nine delegates from American Samoa, which elected its delegates...

Michael Bradley is trying to win the PGA Tour's Puerto Rico Open for the third time in four years. Last year at windy Trump International Golf Club-Puerto Rico, Bradley took advantage of Troy Matteson's short par miss on the first hole of a playoff. Twenty-year-old Japanese star Ryo Ishikawa also is in the field along with Lucas Glover, Argentina's Angel Cabrera, Venezuela's Jhonattan Vegas and 2010 U.S. Amateur champion Peter Uihlein. Glover, the 2009 U.S. Open champion, is making his first start of the season after spraining the medial collateral...