Teva Loft, a high school football player in the Hawaii town that was destroyed by the deadliest U.S. wildfire in over a century, has never been to Las Vegas nor has he watched an NFL game in person.
But he and three of his fellow Lahainaluna High School captains will be at Super Bowl LVIII this weekend as guests of the NFL, The Maui News reported. Three coaches will be joining them in serving as honorary coin toss captains before the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers.
A little more than two months after the Aug. 8 fire, tickets for the homecoming game sold out in minutes, an indication of how badly Lahaina residents needed a glimmer of hope amid a tragedy that claimed at least 100 lives.
Similar to high school football in other American small towns, Lahainaluna's powerhouse program is a source of pride.
Perched on a hillside, the school gets its name from its location overlooking historic Lahaina: "Luna" means "above" in Hawaiian.
Loft, Morgan "Bula" Montgomery, Kaulana Tihada and Kuola Watson were called to the principal's office last month. The seniors thought they were in trouble.
They found themselves on a Zoom call with Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Marcus Mariota, who is from Hawaii. He told the teens that they would be going to the Super Bowl.
"It's going to be crazy, I don't have the words to describe it," Loft said. He's been living with his father after his mother's house burned down in the fire.
"The Lahainaluna High School football team embodies the power of football to bring people together, even in the most challenging of circumstances," NFL Senior Vice President of Social Responsibility Anna Isaacson said in a news release. "We are honoured to have members of the Lahainaluna football team join us as coin toss captains at Super Bowl LVIII to recognize their incredible efforts in rebuilding their community."
Morgan "Bula" Montgomery and his family have been living in a hotel since the fire destroyed their apartment building. The day of the Zoom call, Montgomery's mom also got some good news: The Federal Emergency Management Agency found the family a long-term house to live in.
"There's light at the end of the tunnel," Tamara Montgomery told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
This Monday, Sept. 30 is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (NDTR), a federal statutory holiday and day of remembrance for the Indigenous children who never came home from Canadian residential schools, as well as those who survived them.
British Columbia saw a rare unanimous vote in its legislature in October 2019, when members passed a law adopting the United Nations Declarations on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, setting out standards including free, prior and informed consent for actions affecting them.
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Republicans on Sunday sought to distance themselves from Donald Trump's latest insults of Democratic nominee Kamala Harris during a rambling weekend rally in Wisconsin in which he called her 'mentally disabled.'
The U.S. southeast grappled with rising death tolls, a lack of vital supplies and widespread loss of homes and properties with the devastating toll of Hurricane Helene.
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British Columbia saw a rare unanimous vote in its legislature in October 2019, when members passed a law adopting the United Nations Declarations on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, setting out standards including free, prior and informed consent for actions affecting them.
A commemorative rally marking the fourth anniversary of Joyce Echaquan’s death will take place in Ville-Marie on Saturday afternoon.
Alberta's premier spoke to calls for an outside, independent investigation into the death of Jon Wells during an incident involving Calgary police last week.
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A reaction following a fire at a Georgia chemical plant Sunday morning is forcing evacuations and road closures in the area, according to Rockdale County officials.
Witnesses on Monday reported the first Israeli airstrike in central Beirut in nearly a year of conflict, hours after Israel struck targets across Lebanon and killed dozens of people over the weekend.
Tim Walz and JD Vance might have the chance to reshape the political landscape Tuesday in their first and only debate.
U.S. President Joe Biden said he would speak with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and believes that an all-out war in the Middle East must be avoided.
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The Liberal government is announcing more details on its existing strategy and funding to fight hate crimes.
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Canadian innovators and technical leaders gathered in Ottawa Thursday to demonstrate the latest cutting-edge technology.
SpaceX launched a rescue mission for the two stuck astronauts at the International Space Station on Saturday, sending up a downsized crew to bring them home but not until next year.
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The East Coast Ukrainian Festival kicked off at Pier 21 in Halifax on Saturday, celebrating Ukrainian culture and traditions.
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The fourth and final walk in memory of Megan Gallagher drew around one hundred people in Saskatoon on Sunday.
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A crash between a car and motorcycle closed a portion of Oxford St. in downtown London for several hours on Sunday.
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A pedestrian has died after reportedly getting struck by an OPP cruiser in Bala early Sunday morning.
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The BSI aims to elevate Black academic excellence, promoting scholarship, mentorship, and cultural knowledge.
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Bullet casings recovered from the scene of a B.C. woman’s murder 30 years ago will be retested for DNA after the province’s highest court ruled it is “in the interests of justice†to do so in support of an ongoing appeal.
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A man and woman have been charged after a Lethbridge ice creamery was broken into earlier this week. Staff arrived at Cookie Crimes, in the 300 block of Sixth Street South, just before 5:30 a.m. on Monday to discover the front window broken.
Overnight on Thursday as the community of Elliot Lake was resting to prepare for the upcoming Kraft Hockeyville celebrations, when vandals struck a building that has been top of mind for the northern Ontario city for more than a year.
Ontario Provincial Police remind the public that ‘a case is never closed until it is solved,’ while highlighting the force's continued investigation of the 1996 disappearance of Melanie Ethier.
Sault residents may notice some commotion on the Algoma University campus over the next two weeks as a team conducts an archaeological search.
A mother in a community where the cost of living is one of the highest in the country says grocery prices are 'inhumane' and retailers are putting profits ahead of people’s basic human right to food.
A soccer game in England on Tuesday night drove a spike in online traffic across the Atlantic to a website launched by the Newfoundland and Labrador government.
Newfoundland and Labrador sponsored a minor football team in England, now they’re about to play one of the biggest clubs in European soccer.
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