The Pacific’s future: ‘It’s either rats or reefs’

By Sefanaia Nawadra, Director General, Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) Do you remember the remote South Pacific island where Tom Hanks’ character was stranded in the 2000 film Cast Away? That’s Monuriki, in my...

The TRAVEL Act

The TRAVEL Act, H.R. 3400, carries the full name “Territorial Response and Access to Veterans’ Essential Lifecare Act.” The act authorizes the Department of Veteran Affairs to assign physicians to travel to the U.S. territories to provide and...

Senate confirms Taimalelagi & Faleafine – Nomura for LBJ Board

By unanimous vote, 15- 0, senators confirmed the Governor’s nominations of Taimalelagi Dr Claire Poumele and Lydia Faleafine-Noruma as members of the Board of the LBJ Tropical Medical Center. At the confirmation hearing for the two prominent women...

House passes Amata-cosponsored Veterans and Foreign Affairs legislation

Washington, D.C. — Congresswoman Uifa’atali Amata is highlighting House passage this week, and a few earlier this month, of several bills that she cosponsored. The following Amata-cosponsored bills were passed by the House on Monday: TRAVEL ACT...

Fishing council recommends rolling back fishing prohibitions in Pacific Ocean

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council wants to undo fishing protections in the Pacific Ocean, rolling back regulations that opponents say will hurt ocean ecosystems. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in April to...

DOH reports Hawaii's 13th travel-related case of dengue fever of 2025

HONOLULU (Island News) -- The Hawaii Department of Health (DOH) reported the 13th travel-related dengue fever case in the state this year. The infected person recently returned to Oahu after traveling to a country where dengue is common. 12 cases...

House GOP Adds Anti-LGBTQ Amendments to Defense Bill

Illustration: Adobe Firefly LGBTQ advocates are condemning a series of six amendments tacked on to the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, a bill that funds the U.S. Department of Defense and other defense-related agencies. The...

Q&A: The US is losing its only dengue vaccine

September 16, 2025 6 min read Key takeaways: Production of Dengvaxia, the only dengue vaccine approved in the U.S., has been discontinued. Another shot is available outside the U.S., and two other candidates have undergone late-stage trials. The...

15 things to know before visiting Samoa

There’s an argument to be made that no country in Polynesia is more “Polynesian” than Samoa. Where other islands within the Polynesian Triangle have been influenced by colonial powers, Samoa still runs under a system known as Faʻa Samoa, a deeply...

ASPA’s proposed FY2026 budget totals $113.2 million

ASPA’s proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2026 is $113.2 million up from $107.5 million for the current fiscal year. The number of employees increases from 439 to 444 of whom 19 are contract employees while the rest are local hires. According to the...

King-Hinds secures House passage of TRAVEL Act

Kimberlyn King-Hinds WASHINGTON, D.C. — Just nine months into her first term in Congress, U.S. Congresswoman Kimberlyn King- Hinds celebrated the House passage of her first bill, H.R. 3400, the Territorial Response and Access to Veterans’...

Westpac Scientific Committee recommends CNMI bottomfish catch

HONOLULU — (September 15, 2025) The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) concluded its 157th meeting this week, providing key scientific recommendations to the Council on bottomfish...

Countering China's Maritime Insurgency in the South Pacific

[By Jason Lancaster] Guadalcanal, the Coral Sea, Tarawa, New Guinea, and Iron Bottom Sound highlight the strategic location of the South Pacific during the Second World War. Today, U.S. and allied preeminence in this vital region is under threat....

How the “One Big Beautiful Bill” will impact the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico’s rum Industry

On July 4, 2025, President Donald Trump (R) signed HR 1 into law, referred to as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” First introduced on May 20 by Representative Jodey Arrington (R) of Texas, the bill includes signature policies from President...

Tucson Speaks Out: September 15

Wendy Lucas, a Utah Valley University student, looks at a memorial set up for Charlie Kirk on Friday at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Lindsey Wasson, Associated Press Tipping point for Turning Point? In the aftermath of the Turning Point's...

Tripler nurse named the 2026 Mana’olana Nurse of Hope Award recipient, driven by personal loss

Tripler Army Medical Center – Sherilyn Long, a registered nurse at Tripler Army Medical Center, has been named the 2026 Mana’olana Nurse of Hope Award recipient, recognizing her dedication to patient care and compassionate approach to oncology...

Guam marks debut as associate member of Pacific Islands Forum

Joshua Tenorio delivers his remarks at the 54th Pacific Islands Forum held in Honiara, Solomon Islands from Sept. 8 to 12, 2025. Photo courtesy of the Office of the Guam Governor By Pacific Island Times News Staff Marking its debut as an associate...

Pacific news in brief for 15 September

Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone Fiji - bureau Four officers from Fiji's Counter Narcotic Bureau have been arrested for possession of illegal narcotics. As a result, the Fijian government is closing the bureau down entirely and returning all officers...

Daylight saving: When (and why) we change our clocks after Halloween

If permanent daylight saving time ever takes effect, the biggest pro by far would be no sleep disruption. Some might think it's odd to trick-or-treat when it's sunny out. Ironically, a week after it'll be dark -- a much better setting for...

US House Passes FY ’26 Defense Bill with Service Member Pay Boost

The US House approved as part of its $848 billion annual defense bill another pay raise for service members, after a historic boost in last year’s national defense bill. KHJ News Washington DC correspondent Matt Kaye has more… The “SPEED” national...