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Senator Mazie Hirono  introduced new legislation Wednesday that could close a loophole that allows military personnel convicted of domestic abuse to get their hands on firearms. Under current federal law, civilians convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence are not allowed to purchase a firearm. The Military Domestic Violence...

Hawaii is set to benefit from a $700 billion federal defense bill that passed the U.S. Senate on Thursday. The National Defense Authorization Act, which will now head to the desk of President Donald Trump, will strengthen Hawaii's security and economy during fiscal year 2018, according to a statement from Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii. The measure...

The governors of two U.S. territories on Capitol Hill Tuesday.Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello and U.S. Virgin Islands Governor Kenneth Mapp. The purpose was to give members of the senate Energy and Natural Resources committee an idea of the recovery efforts.“There is a great deal that is at play I think that our role here as the committee, I...

Senate Democrats, led by Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-HI, introduced a bill Wednesday that would close a loophole that enables domestic abusers in the military to purchase guns.Under federal law, domestic violence offenders are supposed to be barred from buying guns. Unlike the civilian justice system, however, the military justice system does not classify...

The University of Hawaii will receive more than $1.7 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to support its agriculture and sustainability education programs.U.S. Sen. Mazie K. Hirono announced $1.3 million of the funding would go to the UH-Manoa for its Hi!Ag program, which includes the GoFarm Hawaii AgBusiness Program, and the remainder...

President Donald Trump's presence on Twitter may have jaded some people from using the platform — too much vitriol and horse pucky for one social network. But put that in the barn for a while, because Twitter, as a whole, offers value to users, especially those interested in politics.Twitter connects constituents to their elected representatives,...

In the short time Trump has been in office, it seems like his administration has managed to attack women's rights at nearly every opportunity. For feminists, 2017 hasn't been the best year, but there are female politicians who will give you hope for the days to come.The White House, for example, was relentless when it tried banning an undocumented...

A bill that would ban that sale, transfer, creation or importation of military-style assault weapons was introduced on the Senate floor Tuesday by a group that includes Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz and Sen. Mazie Hirono. The measure, which also includes the outlawing of high-capacity ammunition magazines, was introduced in response to recent...

Taiwan has officially been added to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Global Entry program, offering significant benefits for Hawaii tourism, according to U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono’s office.With the inclusion, Taiwanese citizens can apply for expedited customs clearance when visiting the United States, and American citizens can also be extended...

Hundreds of foreign fishermen currently confined to vessels in Honolulu for years at a time would be allowed to come ashore when they dock under legislation introduced Thursday in Congress.The Sustainable Fishing Workforce Protection Act offers workplace protections a year after an Associated Press investigation found that Hawaii’s commercial...

Taiwan on Wednesday was added to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Global Entry program, which will allow Taiwanese visitors to apply for expedited customs clearance at Honolulu International Airport and 53 other airports in the United States. “Taiwan’s inclusion in the Global Entry program further strengthens our ties to...

On Wednesday in the U.S. Capitol’s Emancipation Hall, I witnessed with hundreds of others a moment in American history that righted a long overdue wrong. Filipino veterans from World War II, the living and the dead, were finally recognized and thanked for their courageous service to our nation during the years of 1941 to 1946. It took 75 years, the...

Celestino Almeda joined the Philippine Commonwealth Army in 1941, fought alongside U.S. soldiers during World War II and for nearly a decade has been seeking money the federal government had promised.On Wednesday, the 100-year-old veteran got his recognition and finally his money, too.Almeda received the Congressional Gold Medal, the...

Filipino veterans who served during World War II received Congress’ highest civilian honor in a special ceremony held Wednesday in the U.S. Capitol.U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, along with other leaders presented the Congressional Gold Medal to Filipino World War II veterans.“Presenting the Congressional Gold...

Celestino Almeda joined the Philippine Commonwealth Army in 1941, fought alongside U.S. soldiers during World War II and for nearly a decade has been seeking money the federal government had promised.On Wednesday, the 100-year-old veteran got his recognition and finally his money, too.Almeda received the Congressional Gold Medal, the...

Chuck Todd: Welcome back. The Harvey Weinstein story has brought to light the ugliness, the humiliation, and perhaps most of all the prevalence of sexual harassment and assault. Many of us, men mostly, were not aware or chose not to be aware of how common this kind of behavior apparently is. So we decided to do something different here on Meet the...

Maui County is a step closer to seeing an extension to its designation as an underutilized business zone, after a measure to extend the federal program was passed in the Senate on Thursday.The Historically Underutilized Business Zone Empowerment Contracting program, known as the HUBZone program, aims to provide small businesses with federal...

Nearly 40 percent of National Park Service employees reported being harassed in the last year.That's the finding of a newly-released survey that experts say underscores the significant workplace harassment issues the agency is facing.About 19 percent of those who took the survey said they experienced gender-based harassment, while 23 percent said...

Sen. Mazie K. Hirono Friday announced that two Hawaii businesses will receive $1.5 million in U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) funding to develop offshore seaweed as a potential clean energy source. The funding was awarded through DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency –Energy (ARPA-E) program.“These grants recognize the innovative work being done...