Good morning, Honolulu.

Activists celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Protect Kahoolawe movement on Sunday with ceremonies and field trips that honored the legacy of its founders.

Organizer Walter Ritte and other advocates urged young community members to continue protecting our lands (a call to keep aloha aina alive).

The Hawaii Tourism Authority launched its global campaign (Hawaii stays with you) at the Los Angeles Rams game at SoFi Stadium, showcasing Hawaiian culture and community.

Coverage runs today and will continue tomorrow at 5 a.m. on Hawaii News Now Sunrise.

UH Manoa earned top global rankings from Shanghai Ranking Consultancy with oceanography at No. 5 nationally & No. 7 worldwide, atmospheric science at No. 8 nationally & No. 11 globally, and hospitality management at No. 12 nationally.

The evaluation covered nearly 20 academic disciplines and showed strong academic performance.

UH Manoa earned high marks in nearly 20 subjects as the Shanghai Ranking Consultancy placed its oceanography program No. 5 in the U.S. & No. 7 globally and atmospheric science No. 8 nationally, with strong results in hospitality management showing broad academic excellence.

After power outages occurred in Kapolei, Makailo and Nanakuli at about 4:40 p.m. Sunday, HECO has been working to restore power for nearly 6,000 homes — crews are checking on the repairs and updating customers.

The restoration efforts continue as the utility monitors progress.

Hawaiian Electric is working to restore power to nearly 6,000 customers on Oahu after outages began at 4:40 p.m. Sunday in Kapolei, Makakilo, Nanakuli, and Ko Olina, with repairs expected to finish by around 7 p.m.

Dept. of Accounting and General Services repaired a classroom leak at Kealakehe Elementary School during winter break (helping a sister agency outside their regular agreement with the Department of Education).

Buyers are showing more optimism as Clarice Casamina of House of Finance notes a drop in the 30-year mortgage rate to 6.15% and stabilizing home prices, though supply remains low.

She advises buyers to improve credit scores and down payments to secure better loan terms.

The No.2 UH men’s volleyball team swept NJIT on Sunday night to open its season 2-0, limiting opponents to 17 points per set with Kristian Titriyski leading 11 kills and three aces (players celebrated their 2025 Big West rings) and will host Loyola Chicago on Jan.

8.

At Bankoh Arena on Sunday, Jan.

4, 2026, Hawaii dominated NJIT as returning players received championship rings for last year's Big West tournament win.

Kohala boys basketball remained unbeaten after beating the Kamehameha-Hawaii Warriors 46-36 on Saturday night on the road; it was their second win over the Warriors this season.

Hawaii men's volleyball team swept NJIT (25-17, 25-16, 25-17) yesterday at Bankoh Arena in Honolulu before a crowd of 5,267.