Hawaii under state of emergency as winter storm brings flash flooding and high winds
CBSN
Honolulu — From the empty shores of Oahu's Waikiki Beach to the snowy summit of the Big Island's highest peak, an unusually strong winter storm was clobbering the Hawaiian Islands on Tuesday and raising the threat of dangerous flash floods, landslides and crashing tree limbs. The strong storm over the nation's only island state left eloping couples without weddings and tourists stuck indoors.
It also threatened the state's infrastructure with a deluge of rain and wind.
Weather officials warned that slow-moving thunderstorms, high winds and heavy rains could persist through Wednesday and Governor David Ige issued a state of emergency for all of the state's islands on Monday night.
Ashley White received her earliest combat action badge from the United States Army soon after the first lieutenant arrived in Afghanistan. The silver military award, recognizing soldiers who've been personally engaged by an attacker during conflict, was considered an achievement in and of itself as well as an affirming rite of passage for the newly deployed. White had earned it for using her own body to shield a group of civilian women and children from gunfire that broke out in the midst of her third mission in Kandahar province. All of them survived. She never mentioned the badge to anyone in her battalion.