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ASD Staff

Daily Smile

[{"type":"text","text":"Let the dog in!"}]

Smile 26 1 30

<title>Daily Smile: Friday, January 30, 2026</title>

Let the dog in!

Daily Smile: Friday, January 30, 2026

“How my dogs act when my husband gets home after 12 hours vs when I get back from the store after 10 minutes..."

Smile 26 2 13

<title>Daily Smile: Friday, February 13, 2026</title>

Daily Smile: Friday, February 13, 2026

Hawai'i Skies

Today's Hawai‘i Skies was captured by A. Kam Napier while Hiking Kaua‘i’s Sleeping Giant formation. "It’s never too late to do a hike for the first time. Amazing views!"

To submit your Hawai'i Skies photo, visit us 

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

Kam 26 1 29

<title>Hawai‘i Skies: Sleeping Giant</title>

Today's Hawai‘i Skies was captured by A. Kam Napier while Hiking Kaua‘i’s Sleeping Giant formation.

Hawai‘i Skies: Sleeping Giant

Square Mike Brestovansky Headshot RGZ3736 Large

Michael Brestovansky

Crime & Courts

A Pearl City woman was sentenced Wednesday to three years of supervised release after threatening to kill President Donald Trump and former President Joe Biden.

In March 2024, during the Biden administration, Rebecca Ann Folley, then 47 years old and and posting under the name Becca Waters, posted on Facebook a picture containing the message “Going to kill the president,” followed by “INSPECTOR GENERAL, I NEED YOU ASAP.”

The picture appeared to be a screenshot of a comment field on the official White House website; the threat to kill the president had been written in the comment field, under the prompt “What would you like to say?” It is unclear whether Folley actually submitted the comment via the White House website or merely screenshotted a draft message without submitting it.

, the U.S. Secret Service became aware of Folley’s comment in December of 2024, after the election of President Donald Trump, but before his inauguration. A pair of Secret Service agents met Folley that month at her Pearl City residence.

During an interview with the agents, Folley reportedly told them she was a victim of trafficking but law enforcement would not respond to her reports. In order to provoke a response, she posted “bad trigger words” online as a “cry for help," according to the agents' report.

Folley told the agents she had sent hundreds of such messages since 2022, but received no response, even after posting the White House screenshot on the Facebook page of Gov. Josh Green.

“I started bragging, I was like, ‘I’ve got to be the only person in the United States’ history that’s ever been able to get away with 200 of these things on record,’” Folley reportedly told the agents.

The agents then told Folley to “please don’t do that anymore,” to which she agreed, adding that she was taking medication and receiving mental health treatment.

However, about a week later, Folley herself submitted a tip to the FBI linking to another of her own posted presidential death threats, a Facebook post identical to the previous one. She also posted a new message, warning that, in January 2025, she would “certified mail something VERY VERY VERY special to the field office in Honolulu, the secret service dudes, a enduring gift.”

This went on for months, with Folley sending substantially similar messages to various state agencies, the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, and the President’s official Facebook account. Her message to the president was direct: “I’M GOING TO KILL DONALD TRUMP.”

In other posts, Folley said she would blow up the White House, and on one occasion commented on a Facebook post by Hawai‘i Rep. Ed Case “Sir, would you mind if I killed you? Just spit balling.”

Secret Service agents once again interviewed Folley in March, whereupon she said she was no longer receiving mental health treatment and acknowledged that her repeated comments were federal crimes.

Court records also indicate that Folley had previously made threats to a family member in 2021, which prompted an FBI response, and was convicted of third-degree assault in Hawai‘i that year as well, for which she served five days in jail.

For her presidential threats, Folley was arrested in April, and she remained incarcerated for seven months. During this period, attorneys discussed Folley’s mental competence to stand trial, with a U.S. District Court Senior Judge Helen Gillmor finding it plausible that Folley was mentally unwell.

The details of a court-ordered mental competency evaluation are restricted from the public. However, the court found her mentally competent in October, and she shortly thereafter pled guilty to making threats against the president, a federal felony carrying a maximum possible sentence of five years’ imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.

However, Folley was sentenced only to seven months in jail — which she has already served — and three years of supervised release. As part of her supervised release terms, she is required to participate in substance abuse and mental health treatment programs, and will have her use of computers strictly monitored.

Courtfed

<title>Pearl City woman gets supervised release following threats against the president</title>

Rebecca Folley made hundreds of Facebook posts threatening to kill Presidents Joe Biden and Donald Trump.

Pearl City woman gets supervised release following threats against the president

Government & Politics

A proposed law requiring AI developers to impose controls on their AI services is advancing through the state Legislature.

The Senate Joint Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection and Labor and Technology 

, which would require AI operators to adopts certain disclaimers and protocols in order to mitigate AI’s potential to impact users’ mental health.

The bill requires that any “conversational artificial intelligence service” — e.g., an AI chat service such as ChatGPT — to include clear notifications informing users that they are not communicating with a human, particularly if the user is a minor. Those notifications would be issued at the beginning of each session and subsequently at least every hour, and would remind the user to take a break from the service.

Furthermore, operators would have to develop protocols for how an AI service could respond to user prompts indicating an intention to self-harm or commit suicide. Those protocols would include responses referring the user to crisis service providers and preventing the AI from explicitly claiming that the service is intended to provide professional mental health care.

Also, in cases where a user is reasonably believed to be a minor, AI operators would be required to impose controls preventing the AI from generating pornography, making sexually explicit statements, making statements simulating emotional or romantic connections with the user, or claiming itself to be sentient.

The bill follows growing reports of “AI psychosis,” a trend wherein habitual users of AI chatbots developing delusional beliefs exacerbated by the AI’s responses.

Last April, California teen Adam Raine committed suicide after confiding his suicidal ideation to ChatGPT; according to a 

 filed by Raine’s parents against ChatGPT developer OpenAI, the chatbot had advised Raine about the viability of specific suicide methods and repeatedly validated his suicidal thoughts.

And in 2024, 14-year-old Sewell Setzer III committed suicide after extensive use of Character AI, a chatbot emulating the personalities of fictional characters. Following months of sexually charged conversations with the chatbot — during which Setzer confided his suicidal thoughts, which were encouraged and validated by the chatbot — Setzer killed himself after the chatbot told him to “come home to me as soon as possible.”

 Character Technologies, Character AI’s developer.

Hawai‘i isn’t the only state considering such a measure. Lawmakers in Washington state 

 their own bills that would require similar protocols from AI operators. Meanwhile, Illinois, Utah and Nevada have all 

 prohibiting the use of AI chatbots in mental health therapy.

The bill was broadly popular at Tuesday’s committee hearing. Nahelani Parsons, a representative of Google’s government affairs and public policy team, submitted testimony in support of the bill, although she added that Google’s AI chatbot, Gemini, has content safeguards and suicide protocols already in place.

On the other hand, one AI company — Aidgentic LLC, which describes itself as an “AI-focused automation agency” — testified against SB 3001, arguing that most major AI chatbots already include safeguards to reduce harm, but those can still be circumvented by users despite the billions of dollars invested in those safeguards.

“If passed, this bill would effectively mandate that small Hawai‘i businesses solve technical safety challenges that even the world’s largest tech companies have not yet fully resolved,” Aidgentic wrote.

Meanwhile, the state Department of the Attorney General raised concerns that the bill technically could be considered a violation of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

“A statute preventing a conversational artificial intelligence service from making the statements described … may be viewed as a content-based law and subject to challenge under the First Amendment,” read testimony by the Attorney General’s Office.

Whether AI-generated statements are protected by the First Amendment remains an open question. Last year, during the Character AI lawsuit, a Florida judge 

 the developer’s argument that the First Amendment shields the company from lawsuits based on the chatbot’s statements.

 issued by President Donald Trump last December. That order claimed that “excessive state regulation” has hamstrung AI companies from innovation by creating “a patchwork of 50 different regulatory regimes that makes compliance more challenging” and called for a “minimally burdensome national standard” governing AI models.

In any case, the Joint Committee voted to recommend the bill’s passage with amendments as requested by the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. Those amendments include a provision requiring AI companies to only collect data from users necessary to run the service and a provision to make any violation of the bill’s terms an unfair or deceptive practice.

[{"type":"text","text":"The bill is still awaiting a hearing at the Senate Judiciary Committee."}]

Meanwhile, a corresponding House measure, 

, is in similar straits, having passed the House Committee on Economic Development and Technology last week.

Hawaii State Capitol 7 29 25

<title>'AI psychosis' bills pass Senate, House committees</title>

Proposed laws would require AI developers to enact protocols to reduce self-harm among users.

'AI psychosis' bills pass Senate, House committees

 on the number of sharks attacks in the United States by state in 2025. Using data compiled by the media outlet as well as by 

, there were at least 28 reported shark attacks nationwide last year.

In the top spot was Florida, with 15 attacks by such species as bull sharks and lemon sharks, in incidents where the shark was  identified.

Next came California with 4 attacks, all attributed to great white sharks.

Hawai‘i had the third largest number of attacks with three, no fatalities. The attacks were attributed to a blacktop reef shark, a tiger shark and one unknown species.

There followed South Carolina with two, Texas with two, North Carolina with two, then Massachusetts and New York with one attack each.

The 28 reported attacks marked a decline from 36 in 2024.

"The odds of being killed by a shark in the United States are more than 4 million to 1, according to 

" reported USA Today. "Researchers say people are more likely to die by lighting strike (1 in nearly 80,000), accidental poisoning (1 in 193), or a hospital infection (1 in 38)."

[{"type":"text","text":"Globally, there were 11 fatalities among 68 reported attacks."}]

Know your shark! Hawai‘i's Department of Land and Natural Resources has an online identification guide for the roughly 40 species of shark seen in Hawai‘i's waters, click 

Shark warning i Stock 1161806839 16x9

<title>Where Hawai‘i ranked for shark attacks in 2025</title>

Shark attacks were recorded in eight states last year.

Where Hawai‘i ranked for shark attacks in 2025

Katie Helland Headshot

Katie Helland

Arts & Entertainment

Aloha Spirit

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Ready to celebrate love? "}]

Aloha State Daily has pulled together events for couples looking to enjoy a night out and singles who are ready to meet someone the old fashioned way —  in person. From attending a singles mixer to making your own bouquet in Waim

nalo to enjoying free performances from musicians across Honolulu, here are 10 ways you can observe this holiday that puts the spotlight on passion.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Friday, Feb. 13"}]

Looking for that special someone and have not found them yet? This event at Deck is a singles mixer that is free and open to guests who are 18 years old and over. The mixer starts at 6 p.m. and runs until 10 p.m. There will be themed cocktails and interactive games and prizes, plus live DJ entertainment. Giveaway prizes include a one-night stay at Queen Kapiʻolani Hotel. Attendees are encouraged to bring their pup as a wingman. 

Lovers and Friends: Pre-Valentine’s Day Bash. 

Head to Taqueria El Ranchero in Kapolei and enjoy “strong drinks, LIT Energy and a night of nonstop vibes,” according to the description on 

. Attendees can share their relationship status with color-coded wristbands: green means available and red is taken. Music is provided by DJ Benji and DJ Bellz. Admission for ladies is free with RSVP. 

St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Kailua is hosting an evening of fellowship that celebrates the gift of love. Enjoy a catered dinner and cocktails. Tickets are $50 per person, payable at the door with cash or check. Aloha attire is required. 

 Sweet Land Farm in Waialua is inviting attendees to visit the goat dairy and make their own charcuterie boards as part of an evening workshop. Attendees will also feed and cuddle baby goats, experience the dairy’s evening milking, enjoy refreshments and take photos. The event starts at 4 p.m. and runs until 6 p.m. General admission is about $186, plus taxes and fees. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Saturday, Feb. 14"}]

Ready to make reservations to celebrate love? Reporter Kelli Shiroma Braiotta has this guide for 

Where to eat on Valentine’s Day 2026: Part 1

. From steak to pizza, these guides have you covered. Check back soon for Part 3, which has not been posted yet.

“Music from the Heart: A Valentine to Honolulu.”

 will be featuring free pop-up performances across the city as part of its “love letter” to the community. The concerts will take place from 10 a.m. to noon, with times and venues subject to change. The locations include: MW Restaurant Brunch at Velocity (tickets for purchase); Bishop Museum; Downtown Art Center; First Hawaiian Bank at Pearlridge; Kaka‘ako Farmers Market; Kuakini Home; Pickles at Forté; The Barn at SALT at Our Kaka‘ako. Free.

 Build your own bouquet at the flower farmers market. The event will also feature adoptable puppies and kittens, as well as crafts and food trucks. 

Take part in a virtual race with distances that include: 1 mile, 5K, 10K, half marathon and marathon distances. Choose your distance and pace and complete the race any time in February. For each registration, 15% is donated to Heart to Heart International, a nonprofit that provides medical aid and disaster relief to communities around the world. 

Hawaiʻi’s Official Valentine’s Engagement. 

This event features The Stylistics, The Manhattans, and Nā Leo at the Neal S. Blaisdell Arena. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the concert starts at 7 p.m. Tickets start at $97, plus taxes and service fees. 

The Lei Stand at Romer House Waikīkī is hosting a singles mixer, which includes rounds of speed dating. There is also a relaxed lounge environment for friends and wing men or women. The event is designed to create real-life connections in an environment with cocktails and pūpū. It starts at 5 p.m. and runs until 8 p.m. Presale tickets for single participants include speed dating and cost $25. For wing men or wing women, the cost is $20. Walk-in tickets are available for $30. 

The Lei Stand

<title>Where to go for Valentine’s Day on Oʻahu</title>

Whether you are single and ready to mingle or looking to celebrate love with your best friend, Aloha State Daily has rounded up a list of 10 Valentine’s Day-themed activities for Friday, Feb. 13, and Saturday, Feb. 14.  

Daily Smile: Friday, January 30, 2026

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Daily Smile: Friday, January 30, 2026

Authors

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