Affirmative action ruling may obstruct US territories’ college applicants from renowned universities
On June 29, the Supreme Court unraveled the half-century precedent governing race-based college admissions. Affirmative action, a series of measures introduced by John F. Kennedy to eliminate discrimination, was effectively gutted. Edward Blum’s slew of challenges to...
Rising heat and extreme weather: Puerto Rico’s struggle amidst its hottest summer
As we enter the hottest documented summer in global history, extreme weather events pose a significant threat to already vulnerable regions. This year’s June was the hottest June on record, and Puerto Rico was no exception as the territory endured temperatures that...
Raul Grijalva visits Puerto Rico
Representative Raul Grijalva (D) of Arizona visited Puerto Rico at the end of June to discuss the prospects of statehood and ongoing energy issues. Other topics discussed included the impacts of the debt crisis and PROMESA, housing, education, federal benefits, and...
#TBT: August 17, 2023
Women washing clothes in a river next to trees destroyed by the bombardment of World War II at Hagåtña, Guam, on August 12, 1944.
US Virgin Islands’ Nigel Fields heading to work for the EPA
After nearly five years on the job, the superintendent of the US Virgin Islands National Parks Service is leaving his position. Nigel Fields, who first came to the islands in December 2018, was initially only serving in a temporary capacity. In March 2020, however, he...
Google Trends in the territories: July 2023
Welcome back to 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...
ID issues reduce US territorial citizens to foreigners
The relationship between the federal government and the US territories restricts many essential freedoms and privileges for territory residents, such as voting rights and the equal distribution of economic aid. However, this dynamic also affects US citizens: as some...
A breakdown of the US territories’ GDP, in context
The territories of the United States have vastly different economies. All five of them—Puerto Rico, Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands—have had their economies slowly recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Here we...
#TBT: August 10, 2023
On August 10, 1815, King Ferdinand VII of Spain approved the Spanish Royal Decree of Graces, which granted Puerto Rico the right to have commercial ties with countries that were in good standing with Spain, marking the beginning of agriculture-based economic growth.
US Virgin Islands Governor Bryan facing controversy over involvement in British Virgin Islands politics
United States Virgin Islands Governor Albert Bryan Jr. (D), inaugurated in 2019, has encountered some legal challenges in recent months. According to USVI Elections Supervisor Caroline Fawkes, the campaign of Governor Bryan and Lt. Gov. Tregenza Roach has been...
