#TBT: November 13, 2025
On November 13, 1900, a devastating typhoon with 140 mph winds hit Guam. Amidst the widespread destruction, 32 CHamorus and 5 US Navy sailors lost their lives. Inalåhan experienced the most tragedy with a tsunami engulfing the village, leaving 28 dead in its wake.
Puerto Rico’s gender violence crisis has taken a turn for the worse
In Puerto Rico, lethal and severe incidents against women persist at alarming levels. Official and civil monitors document high numbers of femicides (including intimate-partner cases), homicide-suicides, and disappearances of women and girls. In a 2024 pilot study of...
Weekly Action Checklist: November 7, 2025
Take Action with the Americans of Conscience Checklist: Action 1: Support families facing hunger. Action 2: Protect trans youth and hospitals from proposed HHS funding cuts. Action 3: Urge Congress to uphold the right to refuge.
#TBT: November 6, 2025
A plebiscite on the political status of Puerto Rico was held on November 6, 2012. Voters were asked two questions: Whether they agreed to continue with the territorial status and which status they preferred: statehood, independence, or a sovereign nation in free...
New process allows US Virgin Islanders to amend gender designation on official documents
Governor Albert Bryan Jr. (D) of the United States Virgin Islands has signed Executive Order No. 543-2025, creating a formal process for US Virgin Islands residents to request changes to the gender marker on government-issued identification documents. The order...
A global trade shift reaches America’s periphery: The US territories
On July 30, President Trump signed and issued Executive Order 14324 titled “Suspending Duty-Free De Minimis Treatment for All Countries.” It eliminated de minimis (“of the smallest thing” in Latin) duty-free privileges, ending the duty-free exemption of shipments...
Army enlists 33 people in mass soldier swear-in ceremony in American Samoa
On September 10, 2025, 33 young people from American Samoa stood together at the Army Reserve Center in Pago Pago. They raised their right hands and took the Oath of Enlistment, officially joining the United States Army. But this was more than a ceremony. It was a...
Free bilingual curriculum brings 50 years of Puerto Rican scholarship to classrooms
After three years in development, CENTRO, the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College, is launching the Diasporican Educational Program, a free, self-guided curriculum that explores the social history of the Puerto Rican diaspora. The program, which debuts...
#TBT: October 30, 2025
On October 30, 2012, the American Samoa Historic Preservation Office hosted Holger Droessler, then an American Studies graduate student from Harvard University. Droessler, now Pasquines' American Samoa Affairs Associate Editor, visited to access local historical...
Google Trends in the US territories: September 2025
This is our monthly series examining the top Google Trends in Puerto Rico, Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands. Trends data is an unbiased sample of Google search data. It’s anonymized (no one is personally...
