LOCAL

» Orcas and flying marsupials, oh my! A pod of orcas, a rare sight this far south, was photographed off Kauai last weekend. Honolulu police on Wednesday seized a sugar glider, a small marsupial that looks like a flying squirrel, from a Kaneohe home. It was the 15th illegal animal confiscated by officials here since June 29.

» Do you know this man? Honolulu police forensics specialists, with the help of military experts, reconstructed a clay likeness of the head of a man whose skeleton was found last October in the yard of a Manoa home. The man had been shot three times in the head. A coin dated 1982 was found in his pocket. HPD released images of the model Thursday.

» Four Hawaii post offices are among 3,653 postal facilities being reviewed for possible closure in a cost-cutting move, the Postal Service announced Tuesday. The Hawaii post offices on the list are in Chinatown, Kapolei, Kalaupapa and Hanamaulu on Kauai.

» United Public Workers members began taking a strike-authorization vote last week. About 85,000 UPW blue-collar state and county workers have the right to strike. The Abercrombie administration is seeking 5 percent in payroll savings and an equal split in health insurance premium costs.

» No fireworks-related injuries were treated at Oahu hospital emergency rooms during the July 4th holiday period, the state reported, the first such injury-free period in at least nine years. Officials credited Oahu’s new ban on most fireworks.

MAINLAND

» In a last-minute stab at compromise, Republican congressional leaders and the White House made progress toward a deal to avert a government default, according to officials familiar with the talks. Without legislation in place by Tuesday, administration officials say the Treasury will run out of funds to pay all the nation’s bills. They say a subsequent default could prove catastrophic for the U.S. economy and send shock waves around the world.

» Warren Jeffs, the polygamist sect leader defending himself against sexual assault charges, broke his silence with a courtroom sermon defending plural marriages as divine. Jeffs, who is on trial in San Angelo, Texas, said God would bring "sickness and death" on those involved if his trial wasn’t immediately stopped.

» McDonald’s said it would add apple slices and reduce the portion of french fries in its Happy Meal boxes starting this fall. The move came as fast-food chains face scrutiny from health officials who blame the industry for childhood obesity and other health-related problems.

WORLD

» Norway began burying the dead a week after an anti-Muslim extremist killed 77 people in a bombing and shooting rampage. Mourners of all ages pledged they would not let the massacre threaten their country’s openness and democracy.

» A massive Cairo rally designed to symbolize unity highlighted instead the deepening splits between secular and religious parties over Egypt’s future, signaling coming battles over the influence of Islamic law.

THIS WEEK: JULY 31-AUG. 6

LOCAL

» Monday: Public informational meeting on city’s plan to haul sewage sludge from Sand Island Wastewater Treatment Plant to other city plants, 7 p.m., Mission Memorial Auditorium.

» Monday, Friday: Convicted investment scammers Rachelle and Perry Griggs will be sentenced in federal court on Monday and Friday, respectively. The married couple pleaded guilty to running a Ponzi scheme that stole about $4 million from 17 people.

» Friday: Pre-hearing before Hawaii Labor Relations Board on Hawaii State Teachers Association’s request for relief from 5 percent wage reductions and higher health insurance premiums. Not open to public.

MAINLAND

» Thursday: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton testifies at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on Afghanistan and Pakistan.

» Friday: The launch window opens for the NASA spacecraft Juno, which is bound for Jupiter.