Local

» Two sites on federal land in Kahuku are the top choices for a new Oahu landfill, a city consultant announced Wednesday in correcting a previous ranking that listed a Kailua site as the No. 1 option.

» The U.S. will move more than 2,500 Marines from Okinawa to Hawaii as the Marine Corps reduces its presence in Japan, U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye said Tuesday.

» The City Council approved Wednesday a ban on nonbiodegradable plastic checkout bags and nonrecyclable paper bags, to take effect July 1, 2015.

» The state officially began construction Monday of the $5.27 billion rail transit system, boring holes up to 120 feet deep in Ewa for the columns that will support the elevated tracks.

» The National Football League is considering not playing the Pro Bowl in 2013, sources said Thursday, because of lackluster effort by players. The all-star game has been held in Hawaii every year but one since 1980.

» The state completed a $2.5 million project Wednesday to widen a one-third-mile stretch of Waikiki using sand pumped from offshore.

» Officials identified Monday the four Wheeler Army Airfield soldiers, including Chief Warrant Officer 2 Don C. Viray of Waipahu, who were killed April 19 when their Black Hawk helicopter crashed in southwestern Afghanistan.

» Tourism from Japan continued to rebound from the March 2011 tsunami and nuclear disaster, the Hawaii Tourism Authority said Thursday, with 114,055 Japanese visitors spending $186.8 million.

Mainland

» U.S. consumers and employers will receive about $1.3 billion in rebates from insurance companies this year, according to a new study quantifying a key early benefit of the health care law that President Barack Obama signed in 2010.

» Mitt Romney took the helm of the Republican Party on Tuesday after five primary victories across the Northeast solidified his stature as the party’s presidential nominee-in-waiting. Newt Gingrich’s campaign announced Wednesday he would soon end his Republican presidential run.

» Justices across the ideological spectrum appeared inclined Wednesday to uphold a controversial part of Arizona’s 2010 immigration law, based on their questions at a Supreme Court argument.

» John Edwards, whose personal life and political career have publicly fallen apart over the past five years, faced a federal jury last week on charges of misusing campaign money to hide an affair with a former campaign videographer, and the child they conceived, as he made his run for the 2008 Democratic nomination for president.

World

»After months of negotiations, the U.S. and Af­ghani­stan completed drafts last Sunday of the strategic partnership agreement that pledges American support for Af­ghani­stan for 10 years after the withdrawal of troops at the end of 2014.

» Charles G. Taylor, the former president of Liberia and once a powerful warlord, was convicted by an international tribunal Thursday of arming, supporting and guiding a brutal rebel movement that committed mass atrocities in Sierra Leone.

THIS WEEK

Local

>> Tuesday: The state Board of Education will discuss school bus services, update of the 2011-18 strategic plan and other business, 1:30 p.m., 1390 Miller St., room 404.

>> Wednesday: The City Council Budget Committee will discuss resolutions urging the city to acquire the land under Kahuku Village Phase 5 and Kahuku municipal golf course, and other business, 9 a.m., council committee room.

>> Thursday: The state Environmental Council will discuss a state request for regulatory exemptions for geothermal energy exploration, noon, 235 S. Beretania St., room 1500.

Mainland

>> Monday: President Barack Obama meets with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda in Washington.

>> Tuesday: The one-year mark of Osama bin Laden’s death.

>> Tuesday: Newt Gingrich is expected to end his presidential bid and endorse Mitt Romney.

>> Wednesday: The National Libertarian Convention convenes in Las Vegas with Gary Johnson likely to win its presidential nomination.