Now remember: the CNMI economy is tourism-based. Most, if not almost all, businesses in the Commonwealth are affected by this prolonged and persistent downturn in tourism. CNMI government revenue, not surprisingly, is also down. The only thing that prevented the Commonwealth’s financial collapse were the ARPA and other federal emergency assistance funds from the Covid days. That funding source is either depleted already or about to be gone. And then what?

This past month brought yet another episode of violence to the American political landscape, and with it, anxiety and nightmares about freedom of expression and whether there even is an American constitutional order.

In the prelude to the September 2025 Pacific Islands Forum summit in the Solomon Islands, Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele engendered much controversy over his initial denial of Taiwan's participation as one of the PIF dialogue partners.