Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano, one of the world’s most active, erupts for 7th time
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(KILAUEA, HI) — One of the world’s most active volcanoes, located in Kilauea, Hawaii, erupted for the seventh time since December, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
At approximately 1:30 p.m. local time Monday, the volcano released a “small, sporadic splatter foundation,” which then continued to increase in intensity until 6:41 p.m., when the eruptions began.
“Episode 7 of the ongoing Halema’uma’u eruption began at 6:42 p.m. HST on Jan. 27 and is currently feeding a small flow onto the crater floor,” USGS said in an advisory statement posted Monday evening. “Lava fountains are 100-120 ft high and eruption is likely to last 10-20 hours.”
The lava flow has covered 15-20% of the volcano’s crater floor, with additional lava flow emerging from the south side of the cone appearing at 7:35 p.m. local time.
“HVO (Hawaii Volcano Observatory) continues to closely monitor Kilauea and will issue an eruption update tomorrow morning unless there are significant changes before then,” USGS said.
USGS said that the eruption is contained within the closed area of the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, but warned about the risk of volcanic gas creating a haze of “vog” — volcanic smog — entering the atmosphere.
“Water vapor, carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide are the primary hazard of concern, as this hazard can have far-reaching effects downwind,” USGS said in a statement.
The Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Service encouraged people to stay away from the volcano’s enclosed area, since “high levels of volcanic gas and strands of volcanic glass are among the hazards.”
The eruption is under an orange warning, meaning the volcano is either currently erupting without any volcanic ash emissions, or it is “exhibiting heightened or escalating unrest with increased potential of eruption, timeframe uncertain,” according to the USGS website.
The USGS has provided a live stream for viewers to monitor activity. This intermittent series of eruptions began on Dec. 23, 2024, said the agency.
There are about 170 potentially active volcanoes, including Kilauea, in the United States, according to the USGS.
(NEW YORK) — A dayslong holiday strike against Starbucks ended on Tuesday with the largest work stoppage ever carried out by the company’s unionized workers, involving strikes at more than 300 stores in dozens of cities nationwide, the union Starbucks Workers United said.
“The company should be concerned because this is just the beginning,” Michelle Eisen, a Starbucks barista in Buffalo, New York, and a member of the union’s bargaining team, told ABC News.
The union and the company remain without a collective bargaining agreement at organized stores. Monthslong negotiations recently broke off over a disagreement about economic issues, including potential wage increases.
As workers fold up their placards and return to their jobs, a question looms: What happens next?
Labor experts who spoke to ABC News said the worker unrest could give way to a resumption of negotiations and an eventual contract agreement, as both sides find reason to resolve the standoff.
However, if a deal proves elusive, the workers may escalate their opposition toward the company with additional strikes or other pressure tactics, the experts said. The company may also pivot toward a more adversarial approach, leaving the bargaining table and cracking down on union organizing, the experts added.
The strike in recent days interrupted a period of relative calm between Starbucks and the union.
Starbucks Workers United and Starbucks announced in February that they would work on a “foundational framework” to reach a collective bargaining agreement for unionized stores. The union says Starbucks has failed to offer a viable proposal on economic issues, taking issue as well with the company’s alleged refusal to resolve federal charges over illegal anti-union conduct.
Workers United told ABC News in a statement that Starbucks had proposed no immediate wage increases for most baristas and a guarantee of only 1.5% wage increases in future years.
Meanwhile, Starbucks said in a statement that the union had proposed an immediate increase in the minimum wage of hourly partners by 64%, as well as an overall 77% raise over the duration of a three-year contract. “This is not sustainable,” a Starbucks spokesperson told ABC News.
Starbucks United contests those figures as a disingenuous characterization of its proposal, the union told ABC News.
“We’ve reached the position in the bargaining where we need to remind Starbucks who we are,” Eisen said, pointing to public attention and worker strength demonstrated by the recent strike.
Starbucks did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
Sara Kelly, Starbucks’ executive vice president and chief partner officer, downplayed the impact of the strikes in a public letter to employees late Monday.
“The overwhelming majority of Starbucks stores across the country have opened as planned and are busy with customers enjoying the holidays,” Kelly said, noting that the company operates 10,000 stores and employs 200,000 people nationwide.
“The union chose to walk away from bargaining last week,” Kelly said. “We are ready to continue negotiations when the union comes back to the bargaining table.”
The show of worker strength could induce a better offer from Starbucks, since the company may recognize the public relations threat posed by the prospect of more headline-grabbing worker protests, some experts said.
“Starbucks has to continually worry about getting a new generation of customers on board with their product,” Matthew Bodie, a law professor at the University of Minnesota who focuses on labor issues, told ABC News, pointing to the company’s reputation as a liberal-minded employer.
Still, federal labor law affords wide latitude for a company to delay a collective bargaining agreement and lacks the large penalties necessary to compel an agreement, granting Starbucks sizable leverage over the next step in the labor dispute, Bodie added.
“The traditional management playbook is to fight, fight, fight,” Bodie said. “I see it as largely a decision for Starbucks to make because our system gives so much power and discretion to companies in how they manage collective bargaining.”
If Starbucks opts to forgo a new proposal, the union could shift toward a more militant strategy that resembles the previous approach taken by the campaign, experts said.
In 2022 and 2023, Starbucks workers at the company carried out about 100 strikes per year, Johnnie Kallas, a professor of labor relations at the University of Illinois who tracks strike activity, told ABC News. The recent holiday strike marks the first work stoppage of 2024, since the union had pivoted toward a more cooperative approach amid negotiations, Kallas said.
“If Starbucks doesn’t meaningfully negotiate on economic proposals, you’ll see a rise in militancy,” Kallas said. “The workers may reach a fork in the road.”
Meanwhile, the company could also opt for a more adversarial approach, experts said. The negotiations this year have reflected a friendlier public posture from Starbucks. As recently as last year, former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz said he didn’t believe unions had any place at the company.
The National Labor Relations Board, or NLRB, the federal agency that enforces labor rules, is expected to become more sympathetic toward management under President-elect Donald Trump, experts said. Starbucks could shift toward an increasingly hostile approach, knowing it’s unlikely to face much pushback from the NLRB, the experts added.
“If it remains a private negotiation between Starbucks and the union, it could go nowhere under Trump,” John Logan, a professor of U.S. labor history at San Francisco State University, told ABC News.
For now, Eisen said, union members plan to catch up on some rest over the holidays and weigh the path forward. Beyond doubt, however, are the union’s plans to continue organizing new stores, Eisen said.
Workers United organized more than 150 stores in 2024, bringing the total number of unionized stores to about 540.
“You always want your movement to grow,” Eisen said. “The bigger we are, the stronger we are.”
(NEW YORK) — An on-duty United States Postal Service (USPS) worker was stabbed and killed inside of a deli in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City on Thursday afternoon after a “verbal dispute,” according to the New York Police Department (NYPD).
Officers responded to the deli at 168 Lenox Avenue and found the victim, whom they identified as 36-year-old Ray Hodges, with multiple stab wounds to his stomach, torso, arms, back and neck.
Hodges was taken to a local hospital and later pronounced dead, according to the NYPD.
The NYPD did not specify the nature of the verbal dispute in response to an ABC News request for comment.
Jaia Cruz, 24, was later taken into custody and charged with second-degree murder, according to police.
“The Postal Inspection Service can confirm that on January 2, 2025, a United States Postal Service letter carrier, assigned to Manhattan, was the victim of a homicide. The suspect was apprehended and is currently in custody,” the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) said in a statement. The USPIS statement did not confirm the identity of the victim.
“USPIS takes matters involving the safety and wellbeing of postal service employees as a top priority. We are working diligently with the New York City Police Department on this investigation,” the USPIS statement continued.
The USPIS statement also urged anyone with additional information about the attack to contact them at 1-877-876-2455.
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(NOME, Alaska) — Crews in Nome, Alaska, are conducting search-and-rescue operations after a Bering Air caravan with 10 people aboard went missing, according to local authorities.
Bering Air Flight 445, a Cessna 208B, disappeared while flying from Unalakleet Airport to Nome Airport around 3:20 p.m. local time Thursday, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
“The aircraft was 12 miles offshore transiting from Unalakleet to Nome when its position was lost,” the U.S. Coast Guard Alaska maritime region said.
There were nine passengers and a pilot on board.
The Nome Volunteer Fire Department said in a Facebook post it was conducting an active ground search but that, due to weather and visibility, its crews were unable to search by air.
A National Guard C-130 reported it found nothing found so far. The Air Force also sent a C-130 to resume the search and also reported no visuals, and have one hour of flight search time remaining, according to an update early Friday morning.
The National Transportation Safety Board is aware of the reports and is monitoring situation, ABC News has learned.
ABC News’ Marilyn Heck contributed to this report.
