Sunrise 5 a.m. (July 31, 2026)

seeking money for COVID testing. Former state lawmaker and human services director Ryan Yamane allegedly took thousands in cash from Solidum. And state airport's administrator Ford Fujigami is accused of taking a bribe while working for the state Senate. Solidum still remains at large after moving to the Philippines. Defense attorneys are already challenging the prosecution's conspiracy case, calling it weak and politically motivated. They're virtually impossible to prove. And why this Attorney General thinks that she can do something that many, many more experienced prosecutors have not been able to successfully do? I just don't know. Do you think it's just political? Yes. It is my opinion that the government is going to have a difficult time proving this conspiracy just based on the language included in the indictment. It does not seem that there was an actual agreement. The Attorney General denied any political influence and said that lead prosecutor David Venn Acker was in charge. The trial set for September 28th. Now, as that bribery scandal unfolds, the Good Government Caucus is now pushing to get rid of a loophole that allows contractors to donate to campaigns. It's made up of state lawmakers and members are now calling for a special session of the legislature to pass a new ban. Community is calling on us to take action. They want to see leadership. They want to see people speaking up on this issue. And they want to know what can we do that's tactile, that's tangible, that we can complete in a very short duration. And that can be done now. The group is now circulating a petition to present to Governor Green, who has the power to start a special session. Lawmakers can force one as well with a two-thirds majority of the membership requesting it. There are six candidates vine to be Kauai's next mayor. The three frontrunners are familiar names in Kauai County politics because they are all current county council members. Mel Raposo, Felicia Cowden, and former mayor Bernard Carvalio Jr. outland their priorities should they be elected. They mostly agreed that the high cost of living, affordable housing, and county infrastructure are at the top of their agenda. I'm excited about bringing my knowledge, my understanding, my government experience back to the table. And again, not because I can just do it anyway. I'm going to listen first. I pride myself with responsiveness and accountability to the people of Kauai. And I bring that, I'll bring that to the mayor's office. I am very concerned that the next few years will be, you know, bring a lot more inflation on when we see what's happening at an international level. I have a high focus on that. A previous campaign spending report in early July showed Repozo raised the most money, bringing in more than $154,000. Carvalio was next with a little more than $114,000. And join Hawaii News Now next week's Saturday, August 8th, for complete coverage of this year's primary election. Our news team is going to be live across the state getting a reaction from the candidates as those results come in. We've got live coverage both on air and online starting at 5 o'clock. Thank you.

President Trump refuses to give an inch on a sweetheart deal to shill himself and his family from tax audits. Howard's here to report. Good morning. Republican senators John Cornyn and Thom Tillis both scheduled to leave the Senate in January and thus immune to Trump threats. One limits to the audit deal in writing. Otherwise, they say they'll kill the nomination of Trump's personal lawyer, Scott Todd Blanche, to be Attorney General. Yesterday, Trump responded, threatening to pull the nomination for a few months, then resubmitted after John Cornyn and Thom Tillis leave office. The U.S. Appellate Court for Federal Cases is reviewing whether the administration may replace immigration judges by simply calling them inferior officers. The Trump-dominated Merit Systems Protection Board says presidents can fire virtually any federal employee. Now 46 members of Congress, all Democrats, have filed an amicus brief. They argue that the Merit Board decision will wear down civil service protections. On Wall Street this morning, the Dow has turned upward, but in a fairly narrow range. At the moment, the index is up between 70 and 80 points. All right, thanks, Howard. If you are a farmer and you were affected via the Kona Lowe's in March, this is for you. The deadline for financial help that's coming up. First, though, Casey is live in Hilo. Good morning to you, Casey. I'm in my happy place. I'm in my happy place here at the Grand Nani Lolo. We're talking about an awesome celebration, the Southwest Summer Fest, the first annual happening right here at the Grand Nani Lolo. We're going to be talking about that. And cool, kind of some big news. Direct flights from Hilo to Vegas. Ben, would you? Go to Vegas with me? Oh, yeah, probably. I don't know how much sleep I'd get, obviously. Here's a look at what's kind of weather you're going to be expecting right now in Hilo. 74 degrees, pretty comfortable, still a bit muggy with a due point at 71 degrees. But winds are going to be picking up for most of the state. We'll have more on that coming up for you. It's 508. You're watching Hawaii News now sunrise.

Aloha Warrior fans, the news is out. UH games are coming home to K5. All the games, UH shows, athlete profiles, and throwbacks to your favorites are all in one place. Hawaii News Now. Celebrate the home team with us and let's go Bose. First Alert weather with Ben Guterres. And Mother Nature has got the pendulum swinging as far as the wind department goes. We've gone from light winds and we're going to be transitioning into strong gusty trades. We've got a wind advisory taking effect today. A first alert for you. That's starting up at noon until 6 p.m. tomorrow for the usual windier areas all the way from Oahu through Maui County and the island of Hawaii. We could see winds 25 to 35 and downslope areas with gusts up to 50 miles per hour. Trade ones are definitely backing. Definitely see that as we have showers, isolated ones of that coming in, mainly for windward areas, and our first alert future cast is showing moisture coming in, mainly windward and mauka, as we had through the weekend. We're looking at most of the showers still remaining windward and malca, but a first alert for next week, we are expecting by Tuesday more clouds to move in, so we might be overcast for a couple of days in the coming week. But as far as organized rainfall, we're not seeing an awful lot of that at all. As we head into the weekend, not too bad. First alert future cast, first alert 70 forecast calling for those bustery trades into the weekend and for those clouds to begin next week. Jolandi's got to traffic now. Ben, here's a look at our flow map of Oahu, very nice and green. There are barely any yellow spots on the map. And here's also a look at Kauai, no issues as you're driving along Kamuali Highway, making your way through Kalaheo, the tree tunnel, and into Lihui. Conditions very similar out on Maui, whether you're... driving along Hanna Highway or heading west on Honohapilani Highway, no major slowdowns on either Thorfair, and over on Hawaii Island, looking really nice and green, whether you're driving in Hilo or Kona. That's your first alert traffic on sunrise. Grace, back to you. All right, thanks, you too. Heads up for farmers affected by March's Kona Lowe storms. Today is a deadline to apply for assistance through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Funds are being offered to help repair and restore farmland that was damaged. Officials encouraged producers to apply even if they have previously participated in another recovery program. We have information on how to apply on our website. Just look for the as seen on Sunrise page. All right, we got a new nonstop flight giving travelers just another reason to visit Hawaii Island and that includes Casey Lund and he just wanted another reason to be live there, didn't you? Yeah, exactly. Like I needed one. Well, you know, I'm not even a gambler, Grace. Yeah, that Hilo to Vegas flight is going to be a real game changer for a lot of our friends and family over here on Hawaii Island. You know, I don't get to come over here as much as I used to. And I certainly don't get to come over here for the Noniloa because all you folks get to come. I have to hold down the desk, but we're here. And that's what a special occasion is. Nick Domaz. Hey, good morning. General manager. How are you here at the Grand Noni Loa? I'm very well, brother. Thank you for hosting us and talking about, okay, not only the Southwest, the Hilo direct flight to Vegas, but this special place. And what a wonderful place is. This is kind of a big deal that we're here, yeah?

Very big, very big for us, because it is an annual celebration for us to have you guys here to highlight Hilo at the Mary Monarch Festival and the fact that we are here at another time of year talking about Hilo and talking about the progress that's coming by, I think so much passion has gone into bringing this flight, so many people have put their passion behind bringing this flight to our town. to open the doors to the world more. And having direct connection is incredible. It's incredibly important. Tell me, so we're going to talk also, Nick, about what's happening here this weekend, the Southwest hosting their first annual summer fun festival, and we're going to be talking about that. But at Hilo is a destination. Yes. This is, I don't, you don't need to sell me, but this is one of my favorite places to be. But this is a really special part of Hawaii. Yes. And why the excitement is so big is because of that? Because our town, our community is very Hawaii. It is very true, honest and sincere. Sometimes it's a little too true for some people, I would say. Having the direct connect come back in that new partnership, on top of all the other partnership that make Hawaii successful already, I think is going to make a difference. And, you know, we were joking yesterday. Like, how do we figure out now to have Hawaiian news now here five times a year next year? Yeah. Tell me with a good time, brother. Okay. Almost out of time now. Tell me a little bit about really quickly what's happening on Saturday right here at the Nani Law. On Saturday, we have the community come to celebrate the progress we're making. Southwest is inviting. We are inviting for, well, Kiki are going to get pizza popsicles and popcorn. And parents get to play up here. We're going to have a casino set up. Yeah, and I hear, there might be some music. Oh, yeah. So we have multiple different acts, but yes, the big open, the grand act is Capena coming. Our friends, Copenna, man. Capena are going to be here to close the day out. Very good. Well, don't miss it. And we're going to be talking about it all morning. It's going to be a fun community event. And again, it's free to come and enjoy this. And we're going to be talking about those direct kilo to Vegas flights. Nick Dom, thank you so much for being with this. We'll talk to you at 5.30. Real fast, though, we do want to check in with Howard Dykes. Good morning, Howard. It's Friday on sunrise on KGMB, KS&L, and K5. Still ahead, struggling newspaper survives.

Aloha Warrior fans, the news is out. UH games are coming home to K-5. All the games, U-H shows, athlete profiles, and throwbacks to your favorites are all in one place. Hawaii News Now. Celebrate the home team with us, and let's go Bose. 517, welcome back to sunrise. I'm Holly Knight. This is more of your local beach. A new business model looks promising for Maui County Journalism. The Ogden Newspapers is transferring ownership of the Maui News to a local non-profit, the Maui Newy Media and Creativity Cooperative. This includes a printing press physically located on Maui. The ownership handoff is today. The Hawaii collected 986 new jobless claims last week, 50 on Kauaii, 145 in Maui County, 178 on the Big Island, 598 on Oahu. This makes four of the past five weeks coming in below a thousand new jobless claims. More school supplies for local Keiki. Hansador delivered 70 backpacks to each of these five elementary schools, Eva, Kapole, Nanakuli, Wai Anai, and Waipahu. Other deliveries happened on other islands. And the deadline has passed to apply for the fall term at U.H. Manoa. You should be signing up for courses now. But the other U.H campuses have all extended their deadlines to August 14th. 518, now Ben and Ahmed al-Sharaa at the first alert desk. So we started off the week's sticky, but we're expecting a nice windy weekend ahead. Yeah, it's going to be nice, maybe a little bit too windy for some spots, but we do have the return of the trade winds. First of our weather time, we are looking at those trades bringing a few showers, isolated ones.

We'll do that in the meantime is for having mic issues, but here is a look at the North shore of Oahu, no problems as you are heading out of Waialua or Haleiva, looking really nice along Kauqua Road and Kamehameha Highway. No major slowdowns as you're driving through Wahua and getting onto the H2. No major delays along Kunae Road or Kameha Meha Highway as you're heading south towards the H1, H2 merge. Nice and green along the leeward coast on the H1 through the Kuna Interchange, passing the Waikele Premium Outlets and passing LCC. No major slowdowns out of Eva Beach along the H1. Fort Weaver Road and whether you decide to continue on the H-1 or hop on to Moana Lua Freeway, no troubles on either Thorfair. That's your first alert traffic on sunrise. Now, let's take it back to Ben with Hawaii's most accurate weather forecast. Thanks very much, Ahmed al-Sharaa. Here we go as far as first weather. We're looking at those tradewind showers moving back in for windward and mountain areas, but we are looking at the winds to be really picking up. We have a small craft advisory up until 6 p.m. tomorrow for east. wins 15 to 25 knots. We could see higher gusts with seas 7 to 10 feet. And we also have a wind advisory that's up for all islands except for Kauauauau. Serf and shoreline forecast is showing an increase in those surf hole heights, 4 to 6 feet in the morning for East Shores 5 to 7 in the afternoon. This is a combo of the increasing trade winds as well as the swell being generated by now Tropical Storm Genevieve, which is weakening far off to the east of us, 3 to 5. leveling off on the south facing shores mostly flat conditions for north facing shores and we still have a south swell wrap coming in for west facing shores at one to three feet let's look at your first third traffic and weather back to the desk and grace all right thanks a lot Ben we're gonna slow our housing market but that doesn't always mean a better deal for buyers Jill Schlesinger reports Nearly eight months into the year and the housing market has stalled out. The problem comes down to affordability. High prices, increased mortgage rates and elevated costs of homeowners insurance have made it tough for first-time homebuyers to get in the market. Today, a household earning the median U.S. income of about $86,000 would have to spend roughly 43% of that income to afford the median price home. Five years ago, that figure was closer to 30 percent. And monthly payments for essentially the same home have jumped about 80 percent over that time. If you're still trying to buy, run the numbers. Make sure that your cash flow can absorb not only the monthly cost, but also maintenance, which can add 1 to 3% of the purchase price per year. And even if the numbers work, ask yourself, if you were to buy, would you be forced to change your spending? And could you continue to fund your retirement? If the answer is no, you may be overextending. There's no shame in renting. It can buy flexibility, liquidity, and freedom. It also gives you more time to build your down payment, strengthening.

your credit and wait for a home that truly fits your budget. Homeownership is a milestone, not a race. Make sure your finances are ready before you take the leap. In New York, I'm CBS News business analyst Jill Schlesinger. All right, 522. We got a handbag heist on Maui. The value of what the thieves took for some luxury shops in Wailea, will tell you. And HVD is cracking down on those illegal gambling rooms. We'll tell you where they were arrested, where they arrested two people and what they seized during their raid. But first. A ban on foreign-made robots isn't just about these humanoid robots walking around like people, but it could also affect robots working in your home. Jamie Tucker Carlson coming up, I'll explain what's banned and whether your robots will still work.

Aloha Warrior fans, the news is out. UH games are coming home to K5. All the games, UH shows, athlete profiles, and throwbacks to your favorites are all in one place. Hawaii News Now. Celebrate the home team with us and let's go Bose.