A 3-year-old boy's death in Honolulu fireworks explosion raises toll to 4

HONOLULU (AP) — A 3-year-old boy who died Monday was the fourth person to succumb to injuries from a massive explosion of fireworks on New Year's Eve at a Honolulu home, and a doctor said six others faced long recoveries in Arizona, where they were sent to be treated for severe burns.

The blast also killed three women and injured more than 20 people, many of whom have burns over most of their bodies.

The Honolulu medical examiner identified the toddler as Cassius Ramos-Benigno. The cause and manner of death were listed as pending.

After the disaster, Hawaii’s leaders intensified their oft-repeated calls to crack down on the state’s vast illegal fireworks trade with stepped-up enforcement and greater penalties.

The U.S. military flew six of the injured to Phoenix for treatment on Saturday because Hawaii’s lone burn unit doesn’t have enough capacity to care for all the victims.

They are all in their 20s or 30s and have extensive burns, Dr. Kevin Foster, the director of the Arizona Burn Center, said at a news conference streamed online.

The person with the least has burns over 45% of their body while the most has burns over nearly 80% of their body. Each of the six is using a breathing tube and five are in medically induced comas.

Foster said they are all doing “very well” and have good vital signs. But it will be six months to a year before any are able to return to anything resembling a normal life, Foster said. Four patients will likely have to remain intubated and in a coma for weeks, he said.

The patients will likely suffer post-traumatic stress disorder, Foster said, adding the burn center has two full-time psychologists and a psychiatrist hospital on staff to help them.

“There’s something uniquely and particularly horrifying about being burned, especially from this type of injury,” Foster said. “And we anticipate that all of these patients are going to have some adjustment issues.”

Many required emergency surgery before leaving Hawaii and a number had traumatic injuries in addition to burns, because of the explosions and resulting projectiles, he said.

The Arizona Burn Center operated on all six on Sunday, performed three other surgeries Monday and plan three others Tuesday. By then, doctors should be done with removing burns and will progress to closing wounds and grafting skin, Foster said. Infections are the most dangerous and feared complication for burn patients, he said, while also predicting all would likely get them at some point.

“It’s just the way burn injury works, especially when you have large percent-of-total-body-surface-area burns like this,” Foster said.

The scars, and the physical limitations that come with them, will likely be the biggest thing that the patients have to deal with and are what will make these wounds lifelong injuries, he said.

Foundations affiliated with the burn center and the hospital it is a part of, Valleywise Health, are providing housing for patient relatives. Some burn center employees have even volunteered their homes, Foster said.

In Honolulu, Straub Benioff Medical Center admitted 10 patients from the blast — more than from any other single mass casualty event including the 2023 Maui wildfires — and is still caring for nine after one was among those who went to Arizona.

Specially trained nurses in the hospital’s burn unit are changing the wound dressings at least once every 12 hours. It takes them about 30 minutes to an hour to change the dressings of a standard wound patient. But some New Year's explosion victims have such extensive burns that a team of at least four people will spend a couple of hours on the job.

“We’re doing dressing changes around the clock and needing to definitely recruit extra staff just to support that,” said Amy Chong, supervisor of the hospital's burn care unit.

Hawaii’s diverse population has long celebrated New Year’s with fireworks, but in recent years, professional-grade aerial explosives have been growing in popularity even though they are illegal for amateurs. Neighborhoods across Oahu light up for hours as residents launch aerial fireworks into the sky from the narrow streets in front of their homes.

Honolulu authorities say a person attending a party lit a bundle of aerial fireworks, which fell on its side and shot explosives into two crates that contained additional aerials. Video of the resulting explosion shows a rapid series of blasts shooting fireworks in the air and around the front of a house.

Hawaii’s counties have varying rules on other types of fireworks. On Oahu, the state’s most populous island, only certain types of firecrackers are allowed to be used during specific timeframes on New Year’s Eve, Chinese New Year and Fourth of July. However, many residents set off fireworks of all kinds year-round.

This story has been corrected to fix a typographical error in the first name of a Straub Benioff Medical Center supervisor. It has also been correct to show that four of the patients taken to Arizona for treatment will likely have to remain intubated and in a coma for weeks, not months.

Associated Press writer Jennifer Sinco Kelleher contributed to this report.

People walk past the home where a New Year's Eve fireworks explosion killed and injured people, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

A woman sweeps debris from a driveway across the street from the home where a New Year's Eve fireworks explosion killed and injured people, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

Evelyn Paguirigan points to broken windows at her home across the street from where a New Year's Eve fireworks explosion killed and injured people in Honolulu, on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

A woman walks in front of the home where a New Year's Eve fireworks explosion killed and injured people, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

A view of the home where a New Year's Eve fireworks explosion killed and injured people, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

A woman stands in front of the home where a New Year's Eve fireworks explosion killed and injured people, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

A damaged vehicle is seen near the home where a New Year's Eve fireworks explosion killed and injured people, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

Fireworks debris is seen outside the home where a New Year's Eve fireworks explosion killed and injured people, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

A view of the home where a New Year's Eve fireworks explosion killed and injured people, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

The new tariffs announced Wednesday by U.S. President Donald Trump were met initially with measured reactions from key trading partners, highlighting the lack of appetite for a full-fledged trade war.

Trump presented the import taxes, which he calls “reciprocal tariffs” and range from 10% to 49%, in the simplest terms: the U.S. would do to its trading partners what he said they had been doing to the U.S. for decades.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said they are a “major blow to the world economy,” while a Japanese official called them “extremely regrettable” and Korea's prime minister called for emergency measures to support industries affected by the tariffs. Asian markets tumbled in Thursday morning trading.

Here's the latest:

The Thai prime minister says her country is ready to negotiate with the U.S. to find a fair trade balance for both sides, after Trump announced 36% tariffs on Thailand.

Paetongtarn Shinawatra said Thursday that Thailand is committed to working with the U.S. to achieve sustainable economic growth.

She added that Thai exporters should also look for additional markets for their products to reduce their risk of relying on one main market.

Indian exporters and analysts say Trump’s new tariffs are a mixed bag for the country.

Trump announced a reciprocal tariff of 26% for India, as compared to 34% for China, 46% for Vietnam, 37% for Bangladesh and 36% for Thailand.

Observers said Thursday the move will likely impact Indian industry and pressure jobs, but that there is room for new business to come in since India is in a lower band than its Asian peers.

“These tariffs do present challenges, but India’s position remains comparatively favorable,” said S.C Ralhan, president of the Federation of Indian Exports Organisations.

Ajay Srivastava, a former Indian trade official and founder of the New Delhi-based think tank Global Trade Research Initiative, said the protectionist tariff regime could be a catalyst for India to gain from global supply chain realignments.

Vietnam, Sri Lanka and other countries across South and Southeast Asia are the targets of some of the highest tariff rates.

Trump imposed 46% “reciprocal” duties on goods from Vietnam, 49% on products from Cambodia, 37% on Bangladesh and 44% on Sri Lanka.

The duties will affect domestic exporters to the U.S. but also Chinese, Japanese and South Korean companies that have over the past few years shifted production to Southeast Asian nations to escape the trade frictions during Trump’s first term in office.

Automaker Stellantis will shut down its assembly plant in Windsor, Canada, for two weeks from April 7, the local union said late Wednesday.

The president of Unifor Local 444, James Stewart, said more scheduling changes were expected in coming weeks.

“The company said there are multiple factors at play, with the primary driver behind the final decision being this afternoon’s announcement from U.S. President Donald Trump of the U.S. tariffs,” Stewart said. “This has and continues to create uncertainty across the entire auto industry. This is not just affecting our plant—it’s impacting facilities in the U.S. and Mexico as well.”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says the tariffs are a “major blow to the world economy.”

“The consequences will be dire for millions of people around the globe,” von der Leyen said. Groceries, transport and medicines will cost more, she said, “And this is hurting, in particular, the most vulnerable citizens.”

Von der Leyen acknowledged that the world trading system has “serious deficiencies” and said the EU was ready to negotiate with the U.S.

Japan’s chief cabinet secretary has called the tariffs “extremely regrettable,” saying officials thought the country deserved an exemption, after Trump slapped 24% additional tariffs on Japan.

Yoshimasa Hayashi on Thursday also questioned whether the tariffs are compatible with Japan-U.S. bilateral trade agreements and said the move would likely impact their economic ties, as well as the global economy and multilateral trade system.

He said Japanese officials are continuing to negotiate with Washington seeking an exemption. Asked if Japan would consider retaliatory tariffs or file complaints with the World Trade Organization, Hayashi declined to comment.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index dipped more than 3.4%, while the Kospi in South Korea dropped 1.8%. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 also sank 1.8%.

U.S. stocks whipped through another dizzying day before Trump’s unveiled the tariffs Wednesday. The S&P 500 rose 0.7%, and the Dow gained 0.6%. The Nasdaq composite surged 0.9%.

Tesla swung from a sharp loss in the morning to a gain later in the day to help pull the market higher. Treasury yields also veered from lower to higher following a better-than-expected report on the job market.

▶ Read more about markets’ reaction to the tariffs

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer fielded mostly friendly questions during an hourlong telephone town hall with constituents in Minnesota.

House Speaker Mike Johnson has encouraged Republican lawmakers to avoid holding in-person town halls where they’d run the risk of hostile questioning and protesters.

Emmer extensively praised the actions that Trump has been taking in his first months back in office, including the tariffs he announced earlier Wednesday.

“How about we give this guy some grace while he tried to actually do what he’s been campaigning on for years and his mission to protect American companies and workers?” Emmer said. “There’s still going to be some choppy waters, but when we come out the other side, it’s going to be much better than it was beforehand, and certainly much better than it was the last four years.”

South Korea’s acting leader called for swift emergency measures to support the auto industry and other businesses potentially affected by the Trump administration’s new tariffs, pledging full government efforts to address what he described as a looming “global tariff war.”

During an emergency government meeting, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo also instructed officials to work with business groups to analyze the impact of the U.S. tariff increases and actively engage in negotiations with Washington to “minimize damage” to South Korea’s economy, the trade ministry said.

Han, serving as South Korea’s acting leader while President Yoon Suk Yeol remains impeached over his December imposition of martial law, convened the meeting with trade and foreign policy officials after Trump announced a 25% tariff on South Korea.

Merchandise is displayed in a kitchen and restaurant supply store in New York, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Stacks of lumber are set up on shelves at a local Lowes store Tuesday, April 1, 2025, in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)