Born in a typhoon: Many, including newborns, remain without electricity as Guam recovers from storm
June 1, 2023 GMTHONOLULU (AP) — About a week after Typhoon Mawar tore through Guam as the strongest typhoon to hit the U.S. Pacific territory in over two decades, most of the island remained without electricity and the governor appealed for patience during a recovery process expected to take at least a month.
Thousands evacuated as Philippines warns of flooding, landslides from approaching Typhoon Mawar
May 29, 2023 GMTMANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine officials began evacuating thousands of villagers, shut down schools and offices and imposed a no-sail ban Monday as Typhoon Mawar approached the country’s northern provinces a week after battering the U.S.
Guam ‘very blessed’ with no early reports of major damage in the messy aftermath of Typhoon Mawar
May 26, 2023 GMTHAGATNA, Guam (AP) — Chainsaws buzzed Friday as neighbors helped neighbors clear toppled trees and began cleaning the wreckage of Typhoon Mawar, which walloped Guam as the strongest typhoon to hit the island in over two decades but appeared to have passed without leaving death or massive destruction in its wake.
HAGATNA, Guam (AP) — Guam's governor gave the all-clear Thursday after Typhoon Mawar tore through the second-largest U.S.
HONOLULU (AP) — As Typhoon Mawar aimed its fury at Guam, residents facing terrifying winds and crashing waves from the strongest typhoon to hit the U.S. Pacific territory in decades had identical twin meteorologists to keep them informed — and to provide the outside world with a glimpse of the chaos unfolding on the remote island.
Typhoon Mawar flips cars, cuts power on Guam as scope of damage emerges in US Pacific territory
May 24, 2023 GMTHAGATNA, Guam (AP) — Powerful Typhoon Mawar smashed the U.S. territory of Guam and continued lashing the Pacific island with high winds and heavy rain Thursday, knocking down trees, walls and power lines and creating a powerful storm surge that threatened to wash out low-lying areas.
Typhoon Mawar lashes Guam, US island territory known as ‘Where America’s Day Begins’
May 24, 2023 GMTThe powerful Typhoon Mawar that lashed Guam on Thursday has interrupted travel and tropical island life for residents and U.S.
HONOLULU (AP) — President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration as an intensifying Super Typhoon Mawar approached Guam, where anyone not living in a concrete house was urged to seek safety elsewhere and emergency shelters began to fill ahead of what could be the most powerful storm to hit the U.S.
US ends search for objects shot down over Alaska, Lake Huron
February 18, 2023 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military said Friday that it has ended its search for airborne objects that were shot down near Deadhorse, Alaska, and over Lake Huron on Feb. 10 and 12.
The statement released late Friday came hours after officials said the U.S.
Biden wants ‘sharper rules’ on unknown aerial objects
February 17, 2023 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Thursday that the U.S. is developing “sharper rules” to track, monitor and potentially shoot down unknown aerial objects, following three weeks of high-stakes drama sparked by the discovery of a suspected Chinese spy balloon transiting much of the country.
Latest downed objects could well be ‘benign,’ US says
February 14, 2023 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — The three still-unidentified aerial objects shot down by the U.S. in the past week likely had merely a "benign purpose,” the White House acknowledged Tuesday, drawing a distinction between them and the massive Chinese balloon that earlier traversed the U.S. with a suspected goal of surveillance.
Moving species emerges as last resort as climate warms
January 17, 2023 GMTIn a desperate effort to save a seabird species in Hawaii from rising ocean waters, scientists are moving chicks to a new island hundreds of miles away.
Moving species to save them — once considered taboo — is quickly gaining traction as climate change upends habitats.
Guam Legislature passes abortion ban; governor veto expected
December 16, 2022 GMTHAGATNA, Guam (AP) — Guam's Legislature on Friday passed a bill prohibiting most abortions, a measure modeled after a new Texas law that leaves enforcement up to private citizen lawsuits instead of criminal prosecution.
Seoul’s reprisal blows up after North Korean missile success
October 5, 2022 GMTSEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A malfunctioning South Korean ballistic missile blew up as it plowed into the ground Wednesday during a live-fire drill with the United States that was a reprisal for North Korea's successful launch a day earlier of a weapon that flew over Japan and has the range to strike the U.S.
North Korea sends missile soaring over Japan in escalation
October 4, 2022 GMTSEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea conducted its longest-ever weapons test Tuesday, a nuclear-capable ballistic missile that flew over Japan and could reach the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam and beyond, forcing the Japanese government to issue evacuation alerts and halt trains.
Biden taps Montana law professor to be 9th Circuit judge
September 2, 2022 GMTMISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — President Joe Biden nominated has nominated a University of Montana law professor to be a judge on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Anthony Johnstone is a former solicitor for the state of Montana who has taught at the University of Montana since 2011.
Telemedicine abortion continues on Guam after Roe overturned
July 13, 2022 GMTHONOLULU (AP) — Guam's attorney general said a 1990 law that prohibited virtually all abortion is invalid and won't take effect even though the U.S. Supreme Court last month overturned the national right to abortion outlined in Roe v.
Saipan man wages latest challenge to US cockfighting ban
June 3, 2022 GMTHONOLULU (AP) — A man’s lawsuit in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands is the latest challenge to a ban against cockfighting in U.S. territories.
An animal welfare group says the lawsuit has no chance of success because of how similar lawsuits in Guam and Puerto Rico have fared.
China’s Pacific plan seen as regional strategic game-changer
May 28, 2022 GMTWELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — When China signed a security pact with the Solomon Islands in April it raised concerns from the U.S.
On remote US territories, abortion hurdles mount without Roe
May 27, 2022 GMTHONOLULU (AP) — Women from the remote U.S. territories of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands will likely have to travel farther than other Americans to terminate a pregnancy if the Supreme Court overturns a precedent that established a national right to abortion in the United States.
US territory Guam ends indoor face mask mandate
May 2, 2022 GMTHAGATNA, Guam (AP) — Face masks to protect against COVID-19 are no longer required in Guam, a U.S. territory.
Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero issued an order Monday that starting Tuesday, wearing masks in public is optional, Pacific Daily News reported.
US territory Guam lifts outdoor mask mandate
April 18, 2022 GMTHAGATNA, Guam (AP) — Masks are no longer required outdoors in Guam, a U.S. territory.
Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero announced by video Monday that starting Tuesday, the outdoor mask mandate would be lifted, along with size limits on on social gatherings and requirements for social distancing.
China’s security deal with Solomons raises alarm in Pacific
April 7, 2022 GMTWELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A security alliance between China and the Solomon Islands has sent shudders throughout the South Pacific, with many worried it could set off a large-scale military buildup or that Western animosity to the deal could play into China’s hands.
Husband pleads not guilty in Hawaii-Guam trafficking case
March 31, 2022 GMTHONOLULU (AP) — A man accused with his wife of trafficking a mother and teenaged girl to Hawaii from Guam pleaded not guilty Thursday.
Kevin Robert pleaded not guilty to labor trafficking charges, according to his attorney, Tim Rakieten.
Woman pleads not guilty to trafficking teen, mom from Guam
March 25, 2022 GMTHONOLULU (AP) — A woman pleaded not guilty to charges accusing her and her husband of trafficking a mother and teenaged girl from Guam to Hawaii, taking away their passports and beating them.
Pomerrine Robert was arraigned Thursday but a hearing for her husband, Kevin Robert, was postponed.
Couple allegedly trafficked teen, mother from Guam to Hawaii
March 15, 2022 GMTHONOLULU (AP) — A couple trafficked a 15-year-old girl and her mother from Guam to Hawaii, where they took away their passports, forced them to work and beat them, police alleged in court documents.
US pledges $1.14B for transportation projects in territories
February 24, 2022 GMTSAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The U.S. government announced Thursday that it would invest $1.14 billion to repair and rebuild highways, roads and bridges in Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories.
Over the next five years, Puerto Rico would receive more than $900 million while the U.S.
US asks UN to meet on North Korea missile that can reach US
February 1, 2022 GMTUNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United States called for the U.N. Security Council to meet Thursday on North Korea’s most recent test of an intermediate-range ballistic missile capable of reaching Guam, its most significant launch in years that could target American territory.
N. Korea confirms test of missile capable of striking Guam
January 31, 2022 GMTSEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea confirmed Monday it test-launched an intermediate-range ballistic missile capable of reaching the U.S. territory of Guam, the North’s most significant weapon launch in years, as Washington plans steps to show its commitment to its Asian allies.
Guam group fights Air Force plan to blow up bombs, munitions
January 26, 2022 GMTHONOLULU (AP) — A community group on Guam is challenging the U.S. Air Force's plans to blow up bombs and other waste munitions at a base on the U.S. territory, saying it could contaminate water supplies and threaten endangered species.
Court upholds US cockfighting ban, rejects challenge in Guam
December 23, 2021 GMTHONOLULU (AP) — A U.S. appeals court ruling Wednesday affirmed a ban against cockfighting in U.S. territories.
A panel of 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judges ruled against a Guam businessman whose 2019 lawsuit argued the ban was unconstitutional.
Pentagon: few changes to U.S. overseas military ‘footprint’
November 29, 2021 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — After months of study, the Pentagon has decided no immediate major changes are needed in the global positioning of U.S. forces, although it will further analyze force needs in the Middle East and make refinements in Asia and the Pacific, officials said Monday.
Saipan sees dramatic spike in COVID-19 cases
November 23, 2021 GMTHAGATNA, Guam (AP) — An outbreak of COVID-19 on Saipan sent their case numbers soaring Tuesday.
Health officials said there were 98 new cases confirmed, which is 17% of all known infections since the start of the pandemic, the Guam Pacific Daily News reported.
US Army deploys Iron Dome missile defense system to Guam
November 18, 2021 GMTANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam (AP) — A missile defense system the U.S. Army purchased from Israel is on a two-month deployment to Guam.
Army officials said Wednesday they expect to obtain data that will help it understand how effectively the Iron Dome Missile Defense System can be used in the U.S.
CDC sending team to Guam to study COVID-19 deaths
October 21, 2021 GMTHAGATNA, Guam (AP) — The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will send a team to Guam to investigate why so many COVID-19 patients arrive at the island's hospitals dead.
Damaged US sub in port after collision in South China Sea
October 8, 2021 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. Navy nuclear-powered submarine that was damaged in a collision with an unknown underwater object in the South China Sea last weekend has arrived in port at Guam, the Navy said Friday.
Guam’s hospitals struggle with COVID amid nurse shortage
September 29, 2021 GMTHAGATNA, Guam (AP) — Hospitals in the U.S. territory of Guam are struggling amid a shortage of health care workers.
The Pacific Daily News reported Wednesday that hospitals are at capacity, mostly because of a shortage of nurses.
Guam appeals ruling striking down abortion restriction
September 24, 2021 GMTHONOLULU (AP) — Guam’s government is appealing a judge’s ruling that removed a barrier to women in the U.S. territory accessing telemedicine abortions.
American Civil Liberties Union attorneys fighting for abortion access on Guam said the appeal is alarming because it comes as the island is grappling with the deadliest wave of the pandemic.
Restrictions ease as Guam nears 75% of adults vaccinated
June 24, 2021 GMTHAGATNA, Guam (AP) — Guam could be lifting more travel restrictions as its vaccination rate approaches 75% of the adult population.
Guam Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero has been advised by her Physicians’ Advisory Group to consider lifting the U.S.
Calls grow to evacuate Afghans to Guam as US troops leave
June 23, 2021 GMTSAN DIEGO (AP) — In the chaotic, final hours of the Vietnam War, the U.S. evacuated thousands of South Vietnamese who supported the American mission and were at risk under the communist government.
The Latest: Guam launching COVID-19 vaccine tourism program
June 23, 2021 GMTHAGATNA, Guam — Guam is launching a vaccine tourism program to encourage citizens of neighboring countries and Americans living in East Asia to come get inoculated against COVID-19.
The Pacific Daily News reports the first group of three travelers was arriving on a charter flight from Taiwan.
Guam launches vaccine tourism program to jump-start industry
June 23, 2021 GMTHAGATNA, Guam (AP) — Guam has launched a vaccine tourism program to encourage citizens of neighboring countries and Americans living in East Asia to come get inoculated against COVID-19.
The first group of three travelers was due to arrive Wednesday on a charter flight from Taiwan, the Pacific Daily News reported.
Swimming federation to elect leader in shadow of FIFA case
June 4, 2021 GMTGENEVA (AP) — A new president will take over the governing body of swimming on Saturday with a FIFA bribery case casting a shadow on him — as it has for the past four years.
Husain al-Musallam is the only candidate to lead Switzerland-based FINA.
China thrashes Guam 7-0 to keep WCup dreams alive
May 30, 2021 GMTSUZHOU, China (AP) — Naturalized Brazil-born stars Elkeson and Alan helped China thrash Guam 7-0 in Suzhou on Sunday to keep its World Cup dreams alive.
The win puts China, which is hoping to add to its single World Cup appearance in 2002, five points behind Group A leader Syria with three games remaining in the second round of qualification.
Japan routs Myanmar 10-0 to advance to 3rd round
May 28, 2021 GMTCHIBA, Japan (AP) — Yuya Osako scored five goals as Japan routed Myanmar 10-0 to become the first team in Asia to secure a place in the third round of World Cup qualifying on Friday.
China, which plays Guam on Sunday, still has much work to do.
Supreme Court: Guam can pursue $160M dump cleanup lawsuit
May 24, 2021 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court says the U.S. territory of Guam can pursue a $160 million lawsuit against the federal government over the cost of cleaning up a landfill on the island.
The justices on Monday unanimously overturned a lower court decision that had said Guam had waited too long to pursue the claim.
Officials discourage travel to Guam amid COVID-19 surge
May 19, 2021 GMTHAGATNA, Guam (AP) — The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has elevated Guam's COVID-19 risk level to its highest tier and is urging people to avoid traveling to the island.
Eighty-eight individuals were in isolation with COVID-19 infections in Guam as of Wednesday morning, with nine new patients identified Tuesday, according to Guam's Joint Information Center.
Soldiers who perished on secret mission are memorialized
May 15, 2021 GMTPORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Nearly 60 years ago, dozens of soldiers assembled for a top secret mission to Vietnam, three years before President Lyndon Johnson officially sent U.S. combat troops to the country.
Guam podcast to tell stories of modern Micronesian history
February 15, 2021 GMTHAGATNA, Guam (AP) — A podcast focused on Guam's history aims to deliver a greater understanding of the people and ideas that helped shape modern Micronesia...
EXPLAINER: How phones can alert you to COVID-19 exposure
December 6, 2020 GMTMore than 8.1 million people in the U.S. have turned their iPhones and Android devices into WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Three men have been rescued from a tiny Pacific island after writing a giant SOS sign in the sand that was spotted from above, authorities say...3 men rescued from Pacific island after writing SOS in sand
August 4, 2020 GMT
Hundreds of travelers to Guam quarantined over virus fears
July 15, 2020 GMTHAGATNA, Guam (AP) — Nearly 400 people who returned to Guam from coronavirus hotspots were in government-imposed quarantine at three island hotels...
Navy upholds firing of carrier captain in virus outbreak
June 20, 2020 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — The two senior commanders on a coronavirus-stricken aircraft carrier didn't “do enough, soon enough," to stem the outbreak, the top U...
USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier headed to Bremerton
June 18, 2020 GMTBREMERTON, Wash. (AP) — The Navy announced Wednesday that the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier will come to Bremerton for an overhaul in 2021...
Navy carrier sidelined by virus is back operating in Pacific
June 5, 2020 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — Ten long weeks after a massive coronavirus outbreak sidelined one of the Navy's signature warships, WASHINGTON (AP) — After nearly two months sidelined in Guam with a coronavirus outbreak, the USS Theodore Roosevelt has gone out to sea for training, in preparation to return to duty in the Pacific...Aircraft carrier returns to sea after coronavirus outbreak
May 21, 2020 GMT
Carrier sidelined by coronavirus heads back to sea this week
May 19, 2020 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — The USS Theodore Roosevelt will return to sea later this week, nearly two months after the ship was sidelined in Guam with WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s time to get back to work. On board the coronavirus-stricken USS Theodore Roosevelt, the crew is getting the aircraft carrier ready to head back out to sea...Carrier prepares to go back to sea after virus outbreak
May 5, 2020 GMT
Sailors head back to aircraft carrier hit by virus outbreak
April 29, 2020 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — Navy sailors who have been quarantined on Guam for weeks will begin moving back to the USS Theodore Roosevelt Tuesday night, U.S. officials said. A coronavirus outbreak sidelined the aircraft carrier in late March.
California lends 500 ventilators to 4 states, 2 territories
April 7, 2020 GMTSACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The White House said Monday that 500 ventilators on loan from California will be shipped to Nevada, Maryland, Delaware, the District of Columbia, the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam as the nation faces a crush of coronavirus-related hospitalizations...