Week in Review: CUC Accountability, Tourism Strain, and the Shadow of Iran
The week that began March 29 and closed April 4 was defined by three converging threads: a sustained public push for accountability at the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation, a tourism sector showing new signs of strain, and the ripple effects of the U.S. conflict with Iran reaching island families through fuel prices and aviation disruption.
BOEM Recommends Doubling Deep-Sea Mining Area Around CNMI to 69 Million Acres
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has recommended moving forward with deep-sea mining leases covering approximately 69.1 million acres of ocean surrounding the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, nearly double the area originally proposed in November 2025.
Mendiola announces he will not seek election in November, cites pending court matter
SAIPAN — Lieutenant Governor Dennis James C. Mendiola announced Monday that he will not seek any candidacy in the November 2026 election, citing the need to focus on defending himself in a matter pending before the Superior Court while continuing to fulfill his duties in office.
Op-Ed: The CNMI Must Organize Now on Deep Sea Mining
Recent reporting highlighted by Angelo Villagomez of the Center for American Progress and published in the Guam Daily Post should concern everyone in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
CNMI issues Flood Watch for Saipan, Tinian and Rota through Tuesday morning
SAIPAN — The CNMI Homeland Security and Emergency Management office issued a Flood Watch Friday morning for Saipan, Tinian and Rota, warning residents that flash flooding remains possible from late tonight through Tuesday morning as a tropical disturbance interacts with a shear line over the Marianas.
Macaranas Reinstated as DPS Commissioner, Fired During Governor’s D.C. Trip
SAIPAN — Police Commissioner Anthony Macaranas has been reinstated to his position at the Department of Public Safety. Macaranas was reinstated Thursday morning, days after Acting Governor Dennis Mendiola fired him while Governor David Apatang was in Washington, D.C. on a federal engagement trip.
Trump taps Mullin as DHS secretary — a senator who sought to scrap CNMI’s Chinese tourist visa program
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced Friday that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem will leave the Department of Homeland Security on March 31, 2026, replaced by Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, one of the senators who earlier this year called on the administration to eliminate the CNMI’s visa program for Chinese tourists.
This Week on NMI News Service: March 2-5, 2026
It was a week dominated by federal engagement, legal battles, and community milestones across the Marianas and Guam, with developments moving simultaneously in Washington, D.C., Taipei, Hagåtña, and Saipan.
CNMI Visa Waiver Program Surfaces in Congressional Hearing as Noem Confirms Meeting With Governor Apatang
WASHINGTON — The Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program came under renewed scrutiny Wednesday during a House Judiciary Committee hearing in which Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed she had recently met with the CNMI governor, acknowledged the islands want the program restored, but said compliance with security concerns would need to come first.
Governor Apatang Returns From D.C. With Working Groups, Federal Commitments, and a 30-Day Clock
SAIPAN — Governor David M. Apatang held his first extended media availability since returning from Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, briefing reporters on a week of federal meetings alongside the broad coalition he brought to the nation’s capital, while declining to address a turbulent home front that greeted him when he arrived back on Saipan Friday.
