Tropical Storm Lala forecast to impact Hawaiian Islands this weekend

August 13, 2026 | 3:46 PM

Potential Tropical Cyclone – Forecast Tracker (ABC News)

(NEW YORK) — Tropical Storm Lala has formed in the central Pacific Ocean and is forecast to strengthen, possibly nearing hurricane strength, in the coming days as it approaches the Big Island of Hawaii on Saturday.

A hurricane watch was issued Thursday for the Big Island.

The storm is currently about 680 miles east-southeast from Hilo, Hawaii, on the east coast of the Big Island, as of Thursday afternoon. Winds are 40 mph.

Tropical Storm Lala could reach near-hurricane strength in the next several days as the storm is forecast to gradually strengthen.

The storm is currently moving west at 10 mph. It is expected to pass near or just south of the Big Island on Saturday and pass south of the other Hawaiian islands the rest of the weekend.

Heavy rain, strong winds and rough surf are likely this weekend. The exact timing and intensity of the impacts are still uncertain and will depend on the Lala’s exact track.

Heavy rainfall on the Big Island on Friday could bring life-threatening mudslides and landslides, especially in areas with steep terrain.

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Judge tosses Trump administration’s case against Harvard alleging school didn’t protect Jewish students from discrimination

By CNN
August 13, 2026 | 4:29 PM

(CNN) — A federal judge in Boston dismissed the Trump administration’s multi-billion-dollar lawsuit against Harvard University that alleged the school failed to protect its Jewish students from discrimination, marking the latest development in their lengthy dispute over funding and academic independence.US District Judge Richard G. Stearns, a Clinton appointee, wrote in a Thursday ruling the Trump administration had highlighted a handful of concerning incidents on Harvard’s campus but they were “too isolated and episodic” to justify the government’s claim that Harvard was in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.The Trump administration had argued Harvard breached its contract with the federal government under Title IX, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color or national origin in programs that receive federal funding. To support its claim, the administration pointed to incidents of antisemitism on campus, including many in the immediate aftermath of the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.CNN reached out to Harvard Thursday afternoon for comment. The White House referred a request for comment to the Justice Department.Harmeet Dhillon, the Justice Department’s assistant attorney general for civil rights, said the administration disagrees with the ruling and is assessing next steps.“The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division is actively investigating antisemitism nationwide. The Civil Rights Division has an extensive and active portfolio of antisemitism enforcement, including indictments, prosecutions, settlements, and investigations across the country,” Dhillon said in a statement.In its lawsuit, filed in March, the government sought to halt $2.6 billion in existing federal grants, and asked the court to require Harvard to pay back millions in grant payments.The Trump administration alleged “Harvard fostered and continues to foster a campus climate where hostile antisemitism and anti-Israeli conduct thrives,” according to the filing.But Stearns argued the incidents highlighted by the government overwhelmingly occurred during the 2023-2024 school year and did not prove the school has persistently violated the law. The Trump administration could only point to three other incidents of discrimination in the past two years, the judge wrote.Feuding over fundsThe lawsuit was a marked escalation of a protracted battle between the Ivy League school and the White House, which has featured multiple lawsuits and on-and-off negotiations as Harvard accuses the administration of leveraging funding threats to compel the college to bend to its sweeping policy demands.While Trump’s pressure campaign has yielded changes at other American universities, Harvard has largely refused to comply, saying government efforts to interfere on campus are an overstep of its First Amendment rights.In its motion to dismiss the case, Harvard – which has acknowledged failing to properly confront antisemitism in the past – argued the anti-discrimination claims by the Trump administration were a pretext in its ongoing dispute with elite educational institutions over federal funds.“This litigation is a continuation of the Government’s ongoing campaign of retaliation against Harvard for refusing to capitulate to government demands and for exercising its First Amendment rights,” Harvard attorneys wrote.When it filed the lawsuit, the Trump administration accused Harvard of being “deliberately indifferent” to discrimination against Jewish college members. It highlighted instances in which students were “spit on in the face for wearing a yarmulke, stalked on campus, and jeered by peers with calls of ‘Heil Hitler,’” among others.Harvard pushed back in another filing, accusing the administration officials of ignoring its “extensive efforts” to address known issues on campus in the wake of October 7, 2023.“In the over two and a half years since, Harvard has engaged in sustained, institution-wide efforts to identify and address antisemitism on campus,” Harvard said in the filing. Those efforts were documented in a 300-page report issued by Harvard’s Presidential Task Force on Combating Antisemitism and Anti-Israeli Bias.The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

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