A Rota resident looks over the ruins left by Typhoon Bavi. Photo by Brian Manabat By Bryan Manabat Songsong, Rota—When Aubry Hocog became the first woman—and the youngest—to serve as mayor in Rota’s history, she understood the weight of breaking two barriers at once. But nothing in her tenure, nor in the island’s recent memory, compared to the force of Super Typhoon Bavi, the most shattering storm to hit Rota in more than two decades. In the tense days before the storm barr

Federal authorities will strengthen the vetting process for Chinese tourists seeking to travel to the Northern Marianas under the visa waiver program, amid growing security concerns over the entry of travelers from the communist nation.

By Bryan Manabat Songsong, Rota—Super Typhoon Bavi delivered a second major blow to Rota’s fragile business sector this year, as several merchants were still reeling from Super Typhoon Sinlaku, which struck the region in April. "It’s been hard, downhill,” said Juan Pan Tenorio Guerrero, acting president of the Rota Chamber of Commerce. “Sinlaku was just three months past us and we haven’t fully recovered in any economic sense." The island’s commercial community is facing im