Hawaii
Shark attacks in Florida, Hawaii lead to closed beaches, hospitalizations: What to know
Warm water, more swimmers and frolickers in the ocean and sharks: it’s a formula that likely leads to unprovoked shark attacks on humans. Recent attacks happened in Florida, Hawaii and California.
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As summer approaches, reports of shark attacks are on the rise. The most recent? A 25-year-old woman who was in serious condition Friday after an apparent attack off the island of Oahu.
That same day, two shark attacks occurred off beaches in the panhandle of Florida injuring one woman and two teenage girls, according to the Northwest Florida Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Network.
Officials reopened the beaches in Walton County and neighboring Bay County in Florida on Saturday. Both counties changed beach flags from double-red (water closed to the public) to single-red and purple – indicating high hazard conditions and the presence of dangerous marine life.
“Walton County Sheriff’s Office and Florida Fish and Wildlife will have their boats in the Gulf to monitor the shoreline,” said Corey Dobridnia, the public information officer for the Walton County Sheriff’s Office, Northwest Florida Daily News reported. “We just ask everyone to be aware of their surroundings while in the water.”
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What happened in the shark attack near Honolulu, Hawaii?
The as-yet-unidentified woman, 25, was seriously injured in an apparent shark attack Friday in the waters off the island of Oahu in Hawaii near the Haleiwa Small Boat Harbor, a popular destination for shark tours, according to KHON, a Honolulu, Hawaii Fox affiliate, which was among several news outlets reporting the attack.Paramedics responded at about 2 p.m. HST/8 p.m. ET Friday and treated the woman for multiple injuries and took her to a trauma hospital in serious condition, according to Sunny Johnson, Honolulu Emergency Medical Services paramedic supervisor, The Associated Press reported. No additional details were available.
In March, another shark attack happened on Oahu to the east in Ka’a’awa, when an 11-year-old girl was swimming – reportedly the first shark encounter in the state this year. Another attack two days later on March 4 in Waikīkī involved a shark biting off the tail of a surfboard, according to the state’s Shark Incidents List.
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What happened in the shark attacks in Florida?
A woman was injured by a shark when swimming past the first sandbar in the Gulf of Mexico in Walton County, west of Laguna Beach, after 1:15 p.m. ET Friday, according to the Walton County Sheriff’s Office. The woman, 45, lost her lower left arm and suffered injuries to her midsection, officials said at a Friday afternoon news conference. She was hospitalized in critical condition, officials said.
Less than two hours later, another attack occurred about five miles to the east near Inlet Beach. The victims, ages 15 to 17, were in waist-deep water about 4 miles from where the first attack occurred. One victim was hospitalized in critical condition and one in stable condition, officials said.
“We’re 100% confident that this was done by a shark,” Dobridnia told USA TODAY. The two attacks happened within “a very short distance,” he said. “it’s most likely going to be the same shark.”
Beaches were closed Friday and reopened Saturday morning.
Why do shark attacks happen?
The U.S. had the most reported unprovoked shark bites (36) – two were fatal – in 2023, a year in which shark bites and fatal shark attacks increased slightly worldwide, according to the University of Florida’s International Shark Attack File. (Provoked bites happen when a person initiates interaction with a shark in some way, while unprovoked bites occur without human provocation.)
Florida had the most unprovoked (16) last year. That was slightly below average, but the state’s extended coastline and tourism industry makes it the usual contender for the most shark activity, Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Museum of Natural History’s shark research program, told USA TODAY in February.
Experts don’t think sharks are getting more aggressive. It’s a combination of factors including people in the warm water, Naylor says on the museum’s website. “It causes a lot of fear, but the reality is you’re putting a lot of people in the water on a hot day with bait fish in the water,” he said.
Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford said in a note on Facebook that the state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission noted how “bait fish are schooling near the shore at this time of year which may have been a contributing factor in the attacks.”
Other recent shark attacks in California, Florida
A man hospitalized June 2 after being attacked by a shark was released from the hospital June 6, according to a press release from the City of Del Mar, California. He suffered injuries to his torso, left arm and hand from shark bites that happened when he was about 100 yards offshore from the beach north of Torrey Pines State Park. He was part of a group of swimmers who regularly train in the area, officials said.
A two-mile stretch of San Clemente beach was closed for part of Memorial Day weekend after an “aggressive” shark incident resulted in a surfer being knocked from a surfboard on Sunday, May 26, the Orange County (Calif.) Register reported. The beach has since reopened.
In May, two fishermen were bitten by sharks in separate incidents less than 36 hours apart in the Florida Keys, The AP reported.
Contributing: Natalie Neysa Alund, Collin Bestor, Nathan Cobb, Emily DeLetter, Cheryl McCloud, James Powel, Anthony Robledo and Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA TODAY Network.
Follow Mike Snider on X and Threads: @mikesnider & mikegsnider.
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Taylor Wily, who played a shrimp truck vendor and police informant on the television reboot of Hawaii Five-0 and who in his earlier years was an acclaimed professional sumo wrestler, died Thursday. He was 56.
Paul Almond, a legal representative for Wily, confirmed his death. The location and cause of his death were not immediately available.
Wily starred as Kamekona in more than 170 episodes of Hawaii Five-0, a re-imagining of the 1970s crime drama that followed the escapades of state police officers on the island. His character became a fan favorite, gradually morphing into the show’s resident entrepreneur, running a shaved-ice business and a helicopter tour company alongside his shrimp venture.
Hawaii Five-0 could become Kamekona Five-0, Masi Oka, who played Dr. Max Bergman on the series, said in a 2012 interview with CBS.
The series, which ran from 2010 to 2020, followed a fictional state police unit that seemed to routinely crave shrimp. Wily’s character was a warm and comedic presence onscreen that resonated with fans across the world as well as with residents in Hawaii.
Peter Lenkov, a producer of the series, said on social media that he was drawn to Wily from his first audition and that he was impressed enough with Wily to write in his character as a recurring role.
The energy that Wily brought to his performances, even in smaller roles, was infectious. As Kemo, a staff member of a hotel in Hawaii in the 2008 film “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” he provided support for Jason Segel’s character as he broke down and needed to regain his footing. His quiet humor brought levity to situations that involved heartbreak and loss.
Taylor Tuli Wily was born June 14, 1968, in Honolulu. Although he was known for his tender demeanor, he could be an intimidating physical presence, standing over 6 feet tall and weighing at times more than 400 pounds.
In 1987, a friend introduced him to sumo wrestling, on the promise that the friend wouldn’t tell Wily’s mother. Soon after, Wily competed in a tournament.
“I won a case of Spam and some rice, and that was it, I was into sumo,” Wily said in a 2016 interview with Sherdog, a YouTube channel dedicated to the UFC.
In the same interview, Wily discussed why he was billed as Teila Tuli for his UFC match. “They didn’t want me to come with such an English name,” he said. “So I took Taylor and spelled it the way we spell it here in Polynesia, Teila, and used my middle name, Tuli, and got rid of Wily.”
He added, smiling, that he hoped the admission wouldn’t send bill collectors his way.
For two years, he competed in Japan as a sumo wrestler under the name Takamishu. He won several championships, eventually reaching the makushita division — the third-highest in the league — and he became the first wrestler born outside Japan to win a title match.
He left the sport in 1989, citing knee injuries, and pivoted to mixed martial arts. Wily fought in the first UFC, in 1993, where he lost by a technical knockout.
He first appeared on television in a 1982 episode of “Magnum, P.I.,” and he made several guest appearances on shows that included “Marker” and “North Shore.”
His survivors include his wife, Halona, and two children.
In a 2014 interview with Hawaii News Now, Wily discussed his appreciation for his role on “Hawaii Five-0” and what the experience meant to him.
“It’s the best job in the world — you get to play Hollywood but be right here in Hawaii,” he said. “Home.”
Published 22 June 2024, 07:59 IST
Thirteen children and teens in Hawaii took the state government to court over the threat posed by climate change. Now they’re celebrating a settlement that emphasizes a plan to decarbonize Hawaii’s transportation system in the next 20 years.
It’s the latest example of frustrated youth in the United States taking their climate concerns into the courtroom.
The settlement reached in Navahine v. Hawaii Department of Transportation recognizes children’s constitutional rights to a life-sustaining climate, Gov. Josh Green and attorneys with public interest law firms Our Children’s Trust and Earthjustice said in separate statements Thursday.
The youths in the suit had argued that Hawaii was violating the state constitution by operating a transportation system that harms the climate and infringes upon the right to a clean and healthy environment. More specifically, they accused the Hawaii Department of Transportation of consistently prioritizing building highways over other types of transportation.
The burning of fossil fuels —oil, gas and coal— is the main contributor to global warming caused by human activity. Hawaii is the state most dependent in the U.S. on petroleum for its energy needs, according to Our Children’s Trust.
The parties said the settlement was the first between a state government and youth plaintiffs to address constitutional issues arising from climate change.
“Climate change is indisputable,” Director of Transportation Ed Sniffen said in the governor’s statement. “Burying our heads in the sand and making it the next generation’s problem is not pono,” or not right.
Personal frustrations led to the 2022 lawsuit, along with a larger sense of activism that has driven youth climate movements around the world.
The lawsuit said one plaintiff, a 14-year-old Native Hawaiian raised in Kaneohe, was from a family that has farmed taro for more than 10 generations. However, extreme droughts and heavy rains caused by climate change have reduced crop yields and threatened her ability to continue the cultural practice.
The complaint said that rising sea levels also threatened to put their lands underwater.
The settlement’s provisions include the establishment of a greenhouse gas reduction plan within one year of the agreement that sets out a road map to decarbonize Hawaii’s transportation system in the next 20 years.
Provisions also include “immediate, ambitious investments in clean transportation infrastructure” such as completing the pedestrian and bicycle networks within five years, and dedicating at least $40 million to expanding the public electric vehicle charging network by 2030.
A volunteer youth council will advise the Department of Transportation.
The plaintiffs said they found some hope in the settlement.
“Being heard and moving forward in unity with the state to combat climate change is incredibly gratifying, and empowering,” one plaintiff, identified as Rylee Brooke K., said in a statement.
Elsewhere, youths’ efforts to press the state or federal government have been mixed.
The city of Honolulu filed two lawsuits against major oil and gas companies accusing them of engaging in a deceptive campaign and misleading the public about the dangers of their fossil fuel products and the environmental impacts. The oil companies have appealed to the Supreme Court in an attempt to halt the lawsuits from going forward.
In May, a federal appeals court panel rejected a long-running lawsuit brought by young Oregon-based climate activists who argued that the U.S. government’s role in climate change violated their constitutional rights.
Early this year, the state Supreme Court in Montana declined a request by the state to block the landmark climate ruling that said regulators must consider the effects of greenhouse gas emissions when issuing permits for fossil fuel development while its appeal was pending. That case was filed by youth plaintiffs. Oral arguments before the Montana Supreme Court are set for July 10.
“Hawaii Five-0” actor Taylor Wily has died, his entertainment attorney confirmed to CBS News. He was 56 years old.
A cause of death was not shared. Local news outlet KITV reported that Wily died in Hurricane, Utah.
Executive producer Peter Lenkov, who worked with Wily on both “Hawaii Five-0” and “Magnum P.I.,” said on Instagram that he was “devastated” and “heartbroken” by Wily’s death.
“You charmed me into making you a regular… on the show… and in my life,” Lenkov wrote in a second post, alongside a slideshow of images of himself and Wily. “You were family. And I will miss you every day, brother.”
Wily was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. Before entering the film and television industry, he had a career as a sumo wrestler and mixed martial artist.
Wily had a recurring role on “Hawaii Five-0,” playing the character of Kamekona Tupuola for 171 episodes. He also reprised the role in “MacGyver” and “Magnum P.I.” He also played a role in the film “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and appeared during the 20th season of “The Amazing Race.”
Wily is survived by his wife, Halona, and their two children, KITV reported.
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