‘Civilian-contracted aircraft’ crashes in western Alaska killing two pilots and six passengers, officials say

A charter aircraft that crashed at a remote radar site in western Alaska on Thursday, killing all eight people onboard, was making its second runway approach in heavy fog when it lost contact, authorities said Friday.

The Cessna’s two pilots could not see the gravel airstrip and were flying solely by instruments when the plane crashed about midday Thursday, Clint Johnson, the National Transportation Safety Board’s Alaska region chief, told a virtual news conference.

Storm also caused destructive flooding and damage to homes and infrastructure with one woman dead

• Tropical storm Lala wreaks ‘devastation’ to some areas of Hawaii’s Big Island

Crews in Hawaii are working to restore power to thousands of residents after the outer bands of Hurricane Lala battered the islands over the weekend, causing destructive flooding and killing one person.

On the hard-hit Big Island, crews were working to clear and restore roads, but some communities on the southern end of the island remained isolated as they were cut off from communication.

Lawyers seek dismissal of state charges after Mangione pleaded guilty in federal case over Brian Thompson killing

A New York state ⁠judge on Monday ⁠effectively ​postponed Luigi Mangione’s trial on murder and weapons charges over ⁠the 2024 killing of a health insurance company CEO, after Mangione pleaded ⁠guilty last week to separate federal charges.

The ​trial had ‌previously been ‌scheduled to begin on September 8. Mangione ‌has pleaded not guilty to the state charges. Mangione’s lawyers on Friday asked New York state justice Gregory Carro, who is overseeing the state case, ‌to dismiss the charges.

Storm that brought heavy rains and winds left one person dead and more than 100,000 without power and damaged at least 100 homes and bridges

Hawaii residents began to clean up after tropical storm Lala blew past the Big Island, leaving more than 100,000 without power, damaging at least 100 homes and bridges and leaving one person dead.

Lala was downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it grazed the islands, but it brought heavy rains and winds to the Big Island. Hawaii’s total rainfall over 48 hours topped 3.5ft in some areas, according to AccuWeather. The rising flood waters damaged or swept away about 100 homes in the area, along with six bridges.