Department of Justice

Allegations of a lawmaker accepting $35,000 in a bag in 2022 continue to loom over this legislative session.

The announcement was a reversal from what Hawaiʻi Attorney General Anne Lopez said earlier this month, declining to investigate the matter because of concerns it would interfere with an ongoing federal investigation.

The rally also focused on an investigation to identify a Hawaiʻi lawmaker who is accused of accepting $35,000 in 2022. The allegation came to light during the federal bribery investigation into former state Rep. Ty Cullen and Sen. Kalani English.

The U.S. Justice Department is suing four more states as part of its effort to collect detailed voting data and other election information across the country. The lawsuits against Colorado, Hawaiʻi, Massachusetts and Nevada were filed in federal court on Thursday. So far, 18 states and one county in Georgia have been sued as part of the department's widespread efforts.

A federal judge in Hawaiʻi has ruled that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration violated the law by imposing restrictions on a medication used for abortions and miscarriage management.

Ryan Routh has been found guilty of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump at a Florida golf course last year. After the verdict on Tuesday, Routh tried to stab himself in the neck with a pen but was quickly restrained by officers. The jury took about two hours to reach their decision.

A grand jury has indicted two civilian workers on charges they caused the Navy to provide the Hawaiʻi Department of Health with false information about jet fuel that spilled from a Pearl Harbor storage facility. The indictment alleges John Floyd and Nelson Wu provided the Navy with inaccurate information about a May 2021 spill, which occurred six months before the fuel got in the drinking water.

The American Civil Liberties Union argues that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration continues to overly restrict access to mifepristone, a medication used for abortions and miscarriage management. A Hawaiʻi doctor and health care associations are suing over the restrictions.

Hawaiʻi Attorney General Anne Lopez updated lawmakers on the state's involvement in 27 ongoing lawsuits against the federal government, including cases regarding immigration, employee layoffs, and federal funding freezes and terminations.

Arguments have been made for and against the president's proclamation that lifts a ban on commercial fishing in the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument. HPR's Mark Ladao has more.