Hawaii lawmakers are ready to hike a tax imposed on travelers staying in hotels, vacation rentals and other short-term accommodations and earmark the new money for programs to cope with a warming planet.

Since the 2023 Maui fires that destroyed Lahaina, communities across Hawaii have sought ways to protect themselves from more destructive fires wrought by decades of climate change, urban development, and detrimental land use policies.

States and cities across the country are grappling with how to stay on the right side of government transparency laws as the use of encrypted messaging apps becomes more widespread.

Hawaii’s Supreme Court has ruled that insurance companies can’t bring their own legal actions against those blamed for Maui’s catastrophic 2023 wildfire, the deadliest in the U.S. in more than a century.

As many as one-third of people displaced by the August 2023 Maui fires wound up in the homes of friends and family in the weeks after the disaster.

American farmers, small business owners and wildfire survivors are among those who will suffer if Congress cannot agree on a new spending bill after President-elect Donald Trump abruptly rejected a bipartisan plan that included more than $100 billion in disaster aid.

Kansas continues to hold the No. 1 ranking in The Associated Press Top 25 men’s college basketball poll.

Residents of the Hawaii town devastated by last year's wildfire are awaiting the return of one of the nation's most prestigious basketball tournaments with mixed feelings.

A shark bit a Maui surfer and severed his leg.

The debris and ash that remained after a deadly wildfire last year decimated a historic Maui town now sits in a temporary dump site.

Tropical Storm Hone is expected to deliver strong winds and heavy rain to Hawaii this weekend as it passes south of the island chain.

One year after the Maui fires, thousands of residents struggle with grieving the losses of loved ones and generational homes.

The deadly wildfire that tore through Lahaina last August scorched the 151-year-old banyan tree along the historic town's Front Street.

Hawaii residents have faced a year of challenges since the deadliest U.S. wildfire in a century decimated the historic town of Lahaina, on Maui, on Aug. 8, 2023.

A court filing says the parties in lawsuits seeking damages for last year’s Maui wildfires have reached a $4 billion global settlement.

Hawaii officials say two men arrested on a public road within Oprah Winfrey's property on the island of Maui are suspected of illegal night hunting.

Hawaii authorities say the death toll from last year’s wildfire in Lahaina on the island of Maui has risen to 102.

A University of Hawaii study examining the health effects of last year’s deadly wildfires on Maui has found that up to 74% of participants may have difficulty breathing and otherwise have poor respiratory health.

Hawaii health officials say testing on west Maui residents shows no evidence of widespread lead exposure from last summer’s wildfires.

A new report shows that the head of Maui's emergency management agency dragged his heels about returning to the island as wildfires ripped across the island last August.

Hawaii’s attorney general is blaming a delay of the release of a key report into a deadly Maui wildfire on county agencies that forced investigators to issue subpoenas.

Local officials in Hawaii plan to open an office that will speed up Maui County’s notoriously slow processing of building permits to help the town of Lahaina to recover from last year’s deadly wildfire.

The death toll from the wildfire that destroyed the historic town of Lahaina, Hawaii, has climbed to 101 after Maui police confirmed the identity of one new victim, a 76-year-old man.

Moana and Maui are sailing back to the big screen, very quickly.

It's not uncommon to believe conspiracy theories, and surveys show that many Americans believe in at least one of them.

Hawaii lawmakers are due to convene this week for the first time since the burning of historic Lahaina awakened the state to the deadly and costly threat posed by wildfires in an age of climate change.

Sahith Theegala is the leader at Kapalua after the first round of the year at The Sentry.

Hawaii’s governor and mayor are welcoming tourists back to the west side of Maui months after August wildfires killed at least 100 people and destroyed more than 2,000 buildings.

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green says he he wants 3,000 condos and homes normally rented to Maui tourists converted to long-term housing for displaced wildfire survivors who are still living in hotels.

Alaska Air Group has agreed to buy Hawaiian Airlines in a $1.9 billion deal including debt.

The oil and gas sector, one of the major emitters of planet-warming gases, will need a rapid and substantial overhaul for the world to avoid even worse extremes fueled by human-caused climate change.

A pond in Hawaii has turned so bubble-gum pink it could be from the set of “Barbie.”.

Thousands of people displaced by the deadliest U.S. wildfire in over a century are facing uncertainty as they try to find housing in an expensive housing market that’s also in high demand as a vacation spot.

Lawmakers probing the cause of last month’s deadly Maui wildfire did not get many answers during Thursday’s congressional hearing on the role the electrical grid played in the disaster.

Among the first families to return to the burn zone in Lahaina is that of Leola Vierra, who spent nearly 50 years living in a home she designed before it burned down Aug. 8 in the deadliest U.S. wildfire in a century.

Authorities in Hawaii have adjusted the number of deaths from the deadly Maui wildfire down to at least 97 people.

The Maui Invitational will be held in Honolulu this year because of the wildfires that devastated Lahaina, where the tournament usually is played.

Filipinos began arriving in Hawaii more than a century ago to work on sugarcane and pineapple plantations to support their families back home.

It's been nearly a month since the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century killed at least 115 people in Hawaii.

Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler wants his fans to visit the Hawaiian island of Maui to help its economy recover from last month's devastating wildfires.

Some populated areas of Maui are looking at months or even years before their water systems are fully and safely restored following the wildfires that devastated the island last month.

The number of people on the official list of those missing from the Maui wildfire stands at 385, nearly unchanged from a week earlier.

The White House says Congress should pass a short-term funding measure to ensure the government keeps operating after the current budget year ends Sept. 30.

The National Weather Service is warning gusty winds and low humidity are increasing the risk that fires could spread rapidly in the western parts of each Hawaiian island.

President Joe Biden says Hurricane Idalia is “still very dangerous” even though it has weakened since coming ashore in Florida on Wednesday morning.

Crews in Hawaii have all but finished searching for victims of the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century, and it is unclear how many people perished.

Hundreds of homes are gone, scores of lives lost and dozens of people still missing after a fire ripped through the town of Lahaina.

Within a day of Maui County releasing 388 names of people unaccounted for following the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century, more than 100 of them or their relatives have come forward to say they’re safe.

Authorities in Hawaii are pleading with relatives of those missing after the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century to come forward and give DNA samples.

President Joe Biden told survivors of Hawaii’s wildfires that the nation “grieves with you” and promised that the federal government will help Hawaii “for as long as it takes” to recover from the deadliest wildfire in the United States in more than a century.

Foreign workers once benefitted from jobs that were plentiful in Lahaina before fires whipped by hurricane-force winds leveled the Hawaiian town earlier this month.

Experts are using strong language to warn Maui residents in Lahaina and Upper Kula not to filter their own tap water.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said Friday it has approved more than $5.6 million in assistance to nearly 2,000 households in Maui so far as the federal government tries to help survivors of the devastating wildfires.

The fires that broke out on Maui last week have exacerbated Hawaii’s housing crisis as more than 3,000 buildings in Lahaina were damaged or destroyed, leaving many wondering if homeowners can afford to rebuild.

Officials face a formidable challenge identifying the remains of more than 100 victims of the Maui blaze as agonized loved ones yearn for information on those missing after the United States’ deadliest wildfire in more than a century.

If you want to help those devastated by the fires, you need to be smart with your money.

Public schools on Maui are starting the process of reopening and vehicle traffic is moving again in signs of recovery a week after wildfires demolished a historic town and killed at least 110 people.

The police chief in Maui has been pleading for patience while the bodies of victims of Hawaii’s deadly wildfires are found and identified.

Hawaii's governor says the blaze that burned through the town of Lahaina on Maui last week has killed at least 101 people, as recovery efforts continue.

Wildfires on the Hawaiian island of Maui have killed at least 96 people, making it the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century.

The destruction and suffering caused by the Maui wildfires in Hawaii prompted many to immediately look for ways to help.

For scores of families still hoping to reunite with loved ones, it was not yet time to give up, even as Hawaii authorities predict that more remains would be found in the ashes left behind by a wildfire that gutted the once-bustling town of Lahaina.

Harrowing stories of survival are spreading from those who fled Maui's voracious fires.

Tyler Smith has been volunteering at the American Red Cross in Riverside for six years and has gone on more than two dozen deployments, but this is his first wildfire.

The wildfires in Hawaii come after a summer of record wildfires in Canada, which has caused air quality issues around the world.

Collin Morikawa is pledging $1,000 for every birdie he makes the next three PGA Tour events to help with relief for the deadly fires in Hawaii.

Many people are looking for ways to help the response to the deadly wildfires that swept through the Hawaiian island of Maui even as emergency operations continue on Thursday.

The wildfire that has brought sheer devastation to Maui is especially heartbreaking for Hawaii because it struck one of its most historic towns and the onetime capital of the former kingdom.

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green says 53 people were killed in the devastating Maui wildfires, and the death toll will likely continue to rise.

A dangerous mix of conditions appear to have combined to make the wildfires blazing a path of destruction in Hawaii particularly damaging, including flash drought, high winds, low humidity and dry vegetation.

The state of Hawaii is dealing with enormous wildfires that are being caused by two competing weather systems hundreds of miles away.

Two Native Hawaiian men have been sentenced to years in prison for a federal hate crime conviction in the brutal beating of a white man who tried to move to a remote, traditional fishing village.

A female humpback whale traveling with a male and a calf has been freed after it was found entangled in a line with a large bundle of marine debris attached.

Federal officials say a yearling humpback whale off Maui has been freed from a life-threatening entanglement in mooring gear and a plastic trawling buoy.

Flash flood warnings have been canceled for Hawaii, but the threat of heavy rain is persisting as a slow-moving storm system lingers over parts of the state.

A strong storm packing high winds and extremely heavy rain across Hawaii has flooded roads and downed power lines and tree branches.

A San Francisco investment banker has sold his Maui mansion to a retired hedge fund CEO and a Hollywood actress for $45 million.

The Hawaiian island of Maui has become so overrun with tourists in recent months that its mayor is taking the unusual step of pleading with airlines to fly in fewer people.

No one has ever gone more than a year without winning and ended the drought at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. Winning is the only way to get to Maui at the start of the year, so Schauffele and 15 other players ordinarily wouldn't be here. “I got an asterisk for winning the Tour Championship that counted in certain things and not in others,” Schauffele said. Horschel said the tour has crunched numbers and in a normal year, it would add eight to 10 players to Kapalua. The tour has contemplated an expanded field over the years, such as giving a two-year exemption to Kapalua for winning a tournament.

Qldian/iStock(CNN) - Beaches on the Hawaiian island of Maui were closed for the second straight day Tuesday after several tiger sharks were spotted in the water. Maui County officials closed about two miles of shoreline, which includes the Kamaole Beach Parks. The beaches were closed Monday after three to five tiger sharks were spotted. There are no reports of shark-related injuries on this stretch of coastline from the past two days, Maui County said. Other shark attacks this year in HawaiiIn April, a 65-year-old woman was attacked by a shark off Hawaii's Big Island.

Britney Spears is sharing her love for the healing power of Mother Nature. Spears took to Instagram on Monday to share a scenic snapshot from her trip to the Hawaiian island, and opened up about the transformative and powerful effect of embracing the beauty of the natural world. "Nothing heals more than the ocean," Spears captioned the pic, which shows her sitting in a tree growing out of the sandy shore next to the crystal clear ocean. The idyllic photos from Spears' recent vacation to Maui highlight how the singer has been taking time to focus on herself, and her mental, physical and emotional health. Sam Asghari 'Absolutely' Sees Marriage With Britney Spears (Exclusive) Embed Code RestartRELATED CONTENT:Natalie Portman Shares How She Became Friends With Britney SpearsSam Asghari Reveals His Holiday Plans With Britney Spears (Exclusive)Britney Spears Says She's Taking Time to 'Focus on What I Really Want' as She Sends a Special Message to FansBritney Spears Feels 'Beautiful' as She and Boyfriend Sam Asghari Make Red Carpet Appearance