Tropical Storm Moke to pass south of Hawaii, bringing heavy rain to the Big Island
Map of projected storm path. (ABC News)
(NEW YORK) — Tropical Storm Moke continues to churn in open waters in the Central Pacific, just days after Hurricane Lala left widespread destruction across Hawaii.
The new system is currently located about 755 miles southeast of Hilo, Hawaii, with winds of 50 mph.
It is moving west-northwest at 12 mph and is expected to pass south of the Hawaiian islands through the weekend into early next week.
Moke is forecast to remain at tropical storm strength through next Wednesday before weakening Thursday.
On the current forecast track, rain and gusty winds will arrive to the Big Island Saturday night and continue through the beginning of next week.
The storm is expected to produce rainfall totals of 5 to 10 inches, with maximum amounts of 15 inches across the Big Island.
Rainfall totals of 1 to 3 inches, with maximum amounts of 5, are expected across the remainder of the Hawaiian islands.
This rainfall may produce life threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in steep terrain and over areas that were affected recently by Hurricane Lala.
Lala moved south of the Big Island on Sunday as a Category 1 hurricane, damaging or destroying more than 100 homes and cutting off some communities, according to the governor. The storm dumped more than a foot of rain over parts of the state, with the highest elevations getting more than 40 inches. Thousands on the Big Island are still without power.
Isabelle Johnson, 38, has been charged with killing 43-year-old Jason Christopher Coulthart, according to the Walton County Sheriff’s Office. (Walton County Sheriff’s Office, Florida)
(FREEPORT, Fla.) — Isabelle Johnson, a suspected murderer who authorities say had been using multiple disguises and identities, has been arrested and taken into custody, according to the Walton County Sheriff’s Office.
“We got her,” officials said in a post on social media late Thursday. “Isabelle Johnson is in custody.”
Johnson, 38, has been charged with the murder of 43-year-old Jason Christopher Coulthart who was found dead in a shallow grave in June in Florida after he had gone missing in May, according to the Walton County Sheriff’s Office.
Investigators say Johnson used multiple identities to evade authorities, calling her a “master manipulator.”
Coulthart was reported missing on May 24 after he was last seen leaving the College Condominiums complex in Florida, according to the sheriff’s office.
Unidentified remains were found on a Freeport, Florida, property on June 25 — after investigators were able to identify where Coulthart’s body had been buried, according to the sheriff’s office.
A DNA match confirmed the remains were Coulthart’s in July, the sheriff’s office said.
Five others have been arrested and charged in connection with the murder, including two people accused of aiding Johnson evade investigators, the sheriff’s office said.
Office buildings tower over midtown Manhattan on October 16, 2025 in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Several Midtown Manhattan blocks were evacuated Tuesday morning after construction workers discovered the structure of an office building being converted into residential housing was compromised on the 21st floor, officials said.
New York City Fire Department and Department of Buildings crews went to 235 East 42nd Street, which is one block west of the United Nations headquarters, around 8:11 a.m. after workers “observed structural support beams beginning to buckle,” the NYPD said.
That caused the 21st through 26th floors of the building to start caving under the stress, officials said.
The 37-story commercial building is currently undergoing renovations to convert it into a residential building, according to the DOB. It is one of the largest office-to-apartment conversion projects in city history, officials said.
There were no reported injuries and all construction workers were safely evacuated, according to police.
Other buildings near 235 East 42nd Street were also evacuated, including a nearby Hampton Inn, according to officials.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said at an unrelated news conference Tuesday morning that among the evacuated locations was a school with 400 students.
“Our top priority right now is the safety of those who live in this area and those who work in this area. And DOB inspectors and engineers are on site working quickly to secure the site as well as that surrounding area,” he said.
Several nearby streets were closed off as a precaution while building inspectors and FDNY personnel inspected the building.
The Lyceum, oldest building on the campus of the University of Mississippi, April 12, 2008, in Oxford, Miss. (Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — A father and son who worked at a Mississippi smoke shop were charged by federal prosecutors in connection with one of the two Ole Miss student deaths that took place last week.
U.S. Attorney Scott F. Leary for the Northern District of Mississippi announced Friday that a criminal complaint was filed against Yahya Mohamed Mosleh, 51, and Islam Yahya Mosleh, 18, on charges with possession with the intent to distribute controlled substances in connection with the death of Aidan Hamilton.
The father and son, who were arrested last week, worked at the smoke shop that allegedly sold illegal substances to Hamilton, investigators allege.
Hamilton, a freshman from Englewood, Colorado, was found dead on campus on Sept. 21, and investigators found “packages, some with missing tablets, of suspected kratom derivatives,” according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
“The cause of death appeared to be consistent with a drug overdose,” the U.S. attorney’s office said.
An hour later, a second Ole Miss student, Robert Strang, a junior from Atlanta, was found dead in a different location, and investigators also found “packages of suspected kratom derivatives,” according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
Strang’s death was also consistent with a drug overdose, the U.S. attorney’s office said.
Kratom products contain chemicals that can increase alertness, physical energy, and talkativeness. At higher doses, users may experience sedating effects.
The FDA has warned that kratom and especially concentrated synthetic 7-OH products can carry risks, including addiction, mental health concerns and other serious adverse effects.
Some jurisdictions in the country have banned the sale of kratom. Oxford, Mississippi, has banned the sale, possession and consumption of Kratom since 2019.
Advocates have called on the Food and Drug Administration for stricter regulations on the products and bans.
Toxicology reports on both deaths are still ongoing, according to investigators.
The Lafayette County Metro Narcotics Unit was able to track Hamilton’s bank records and found that he made several purchases from Puffs Vape, Tobacco and Beer Store in Oxford, Mississippi, the federal criminal complaint said.
After an undercover informant was able to purchase pills that were advertised as 7 O Kratom pills, Lafayette County Metro Narcotics Unit officers executed a search warrant on Sept. 24 of the store and seized over 500 units of kratom, the U.S. attorney’s office said.
Mississippi investigators arrested the father and son that day and charged them with possession of Schedule I controlled substances with intent to distribute.
Attorney information for the defendants wasn’t immediately available.
The Lafayette County Metro Narcotics Unit also tracked Strang’s financial records and found he made purchases at Express Mart #7, a gas station convenience store in Yalobusha County, according to the criminal complaint.
Officers were able to go to the store and purchase similar pills to the ones found and have sent them off to crime labs for analysis, the criminal complaint said.
No one from that business has been charged as of Friday.
