A special U.S. prosecutor says a powerful Hawaii law enforcement couple used a secret police force of hand-picked officers in a blatant abuse of power to enrich themselves.
A trial opened Wednesday and continues Thursday in what's been called the state's biggest public corruption case.
Retired Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha and former deputy city prosecutor Katherine Kealoha are accused of stealing money from her uncle and grandmother to fund the couple's lavish lifestyle. Prosecutors say they framed the uncle for a crime he didn't commit to keep him from revealing the fraud.
Former Honolulu deputy city prosecutor Katherine Kealoha, right, walks into federal court in Honolulu on Wednesday, May 22, 2019. A trial for what has been described as the biggest corruption case in Hawaii history began Wednesday for Kealoha and her husband, former police chief Louis Kealoha. The two are accused of conspiring to frame Katherine Kealoha's uncle for a crime he did not commit. The Kealoha's were indicted on charges including conspiracy and obstruction. Federal authorities began investigating the two in 2015 and both stepped down from their jobs as the probe deepened. (AP PhotoCaleb Jones)
Special U.S. Attorney Michael Wheat says Katherine Kealoha used money from her now-99-year-old grandmother's reverse mortgage on exotic cars and expensive concert tickets.
Her defense attorney says what happened to the money is simply a family misunderstanding.
Former Honolulu police chief Louis Kealoha, right, walks into federal court in Honolulu on Wednesday, May 22, 2019. A trial for what has been described as the biggest corruption case in Hawaii history began Wednesday for Kealoha and his former city prosecutor wife, Katherine Kealoha. The two are accused of conspiring to frame Katherine Kealoha's uncle for a crime he did not commit. The Kealoha's were indicted on charges including conspiracy and obstruction. Federal authorities began investigating the two in 2015 and both stepped down from their jobs as the probe deepened. (AP PhotoCaleb Jones)
JERUSALEM (AP) — Yemen's Houthi rebels on Saturday claimed shooting down another of the U.S. military's MQ-9 Reaper drones, airing footage of parts that corresponded to known pieces of the unmanned aircraft.
The Houthis said they shot down the Reaper with a surface-to-air missile, part of a renewed series of assaults this week by the rebels after a relative lull in their pressure campaign over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.
U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Bryon J. McGarry, a Defense Department spokesperson, acknowledged to The Associated Press on Saturday that “a U.S. Air Force MQ-9 drone crashed in Yemen.” He said an investigation was underway, without elaborating.
The Houthis described the downing as happening Thursday over their stronghold in the country's Saada province.
Footage released by the Houthis included what they described as the missile launch targeting the drone, with a man off-camera reciting the Houthi's slogan after it was hit: “God is the greatest; death to America; death to Israel; curse the Jews; victory to Islam.”
The footage included several close-ups on parts of the drone that included the logo of General Atomics, which manufactures the drone, and serial numbers corresponding with known parts made by the company.
Since the Houthis seized the country’s north and its capital of Sanaa in 2014, the U.S. military has lost at least five drones to the rebels counting Thursday's shootdown — in 2017, 2019, 2023 and this year.
Reapers, which cost around $30 million apiece, can fly at altitudes up to 50,000 feet and have an endurance of up to 24 hours before needing to land.
The drone shootdown comes as the Houthis launch attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, demanding Israel ends the war in Gaza, which has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians there. The war began after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and taking some 250 others hostage.
The Houthis have launched more than 50 attacks on shipping, seized one vessel and sank another since November, according to the U.S. Maritime Administration.
Houthi attacks have dropped in recent weeks as the rebels have been targeted by a U.S.-led airstrike campaign in Yemen. Shipping through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden has declined because of the threat. American officials have speculated that the rebels may be running out of weapons as a result of the U.S.-led campaign against them and after firing drones and missiles steadily in the last months. However, the rebels have renewed their attacks in the last week.
A Houthi supporter raises a mock rocket during a rally against the U.S. and Israel and to support Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, April. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)
