Read the latest news from regional and global sources, presenting different voices and perspectives.

Amata welcomes ARPA Funds Extension from U.S. Department of Education
Washington, D.C. — Congresswoman Uifa’atali Amata is welcoming the decision by Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to extend American Samoa’s time limit for their use of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) education funds. Congresswoman Uifa’atali...

Greenpeace USA Slams U.S. Seabed Mining Plans off American Samoa
Greenpeace USA has expressed deep disappointment that the US Department of Interior is considering seabed mineral leasing near American Samoa. Greenpeace USA’s Deep Sea mining Campaign Lead Arlo Hemphill said in a statement, “This move disregards...

Trump’s Deep-Sea Mining Order Will Likely Impact Gulf Coast States, Biodiversity
The US military is a major interest in this new extractive industry, which is poised to emerge both off- and on-shore. Listen To This Story Along the industry-laden Gulf Coast, a new type of extractive industry is taking shape. Two deep-sea mining...

McDonald’s American Samoa awards $104,000 in scholarships
McDonald’s American Samoa Wednesday presented scholarships totaling $104,000 to four graduates of the American Samoa Community College and three high school graduates to pursue higher education. The scholarships were presented at a luncheon that...

Chief Master Sergeant Robert Toaali‘i Siligo Palmer Jr., USAF (Ret.) passes
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — After 64 years of devoted marriage and 40 years of distinguished military service, United States Air Force Retired Chief Master Sergeant Robert Toaali‘i Siligo Palmer Jr., age 84, of Hughesville, Maryland, went home to...

The voting controversy over American Samoans in Alaska, in context
Tensions between the US government and a small group of people of American Samoan descent have broken out in Alaska in recent weeks, raising questions about the future of birthright citizenship in America. About ten months after Tupe Smith, a...

Only one faipule attended the townhall meeting on deepsea mining
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — At last week’s Town Hall meeting on deep-sea mining, held at the Governor H. Rex Lee Auditorium, Swains Island Faipule Alex Jennings stood out as the sole member of the Legislature in attendance. This fact was brought...

Conference Counsel: Temples, missionaries, education part of hastening
Photo supplied, Intellectual Reserve Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles provides words of inspiration during the Saturday morning session of general conference at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City on April 5, 2025....
OP-ED: American Samoa must have its say in the EEZ
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A federal official recently confirmed that seabed mining near American Samoa would take place in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) — waters beyond the 3-mile limit, under U.S. federal control. That may be what the law...

Finafinau represents American Samoa at United Nations Ocean Conference
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — From June 2– 13, 2025, the city of Nice, France, hosted the 3rd United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3), a global summit dedicated to the sustainable management and protection of the world’s oceans. Representing...

Catholic Church ordains new deacons
The Catholic Church in American Samoa celebrated the ordination of 12 permanent deacons and one transitional deacon on Friday, June 27. The deacons have successfully completed four years of study and pastoral work to be ordained. Both the deacons...

Letters to the editor: ‘Restoring truth and sanity to American History’; city tries to suppress legal recourse; shuttering of NOAA facilities
‘Restoring truth and sanity to American History’ Oh, boy, whose great idea was this? Have you been to RMNP, or any national park or national monument recently? If so, did you notice the nice-sounding little message signs plastered everywhere? So,...

Greenpeace USA Slams U.S. Seabed Mining Plans off American Samoa
Victor Pickering, a Greenpeace International activist from Fiji displays a banner reading “Our Pacific Is Not Yours To Destroy” in front of the Maersk Launcher, a ship chartered by DeepGreen, one of the companies spearheading the drive to mine the...

Interior initiates first step for potential mineral lease sale offshore of American Samoa
WASHINGTON — [Date: June 12, 2025] Delivering on President Donald J. Trump’s bold agenda to restore American energy and mineral independence, the Department of the Interior today announced the publication of a Request for Information and Interest...

Fatoata hosts the NOAA Ocean Acidification Teacher Workshop
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Fatoata hosted a three-day NOAA Ocean Acidification Program Teacher Workshop from Monday, June 23, to Wednesday, June 25. Twenty teachers from all over the island gathered to learn about ocean acidification and its...

Global, Regional, and National Burden of Iodine Deficiency in Reproductive Women From 1990 to 2019, and Projections to 2035: A Systematic Analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study in 2019
1Department of General Surgery, Cancer Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, Xinjiang, 830011, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of General Surgery, Xiangya Hospital Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, 410008, People’s...

Lt. Governor welcomes linguist and educator known for preserving native languages
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Lieutenant Governor Pulumataala Ae Ae, Jr met this week with Dr. Keao NeSmith, a distinguished Native Hawaiian linguist, educator, and translator, known for his extensive work in preserving native languages through book...

Police
Leitualasa Vaafuti Patu wrote herself into the history books as the dux of the first graduating class of newly established Samoa’s Police Academy. The 29 year old is the daughter of Lofipo Vaafuti Patu and Pereisa Leataua Mapesone, who had both...

Fatoata and Learning Endeavors host Wetlands Teacher Workshop
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The non-profit organization Fatoata, in collaboration with Learning Endeavors, hosted a wetlands teacher workshop on Thursday, June 26, and Friday, June 27. Learning Endeavors focuses on coastal resilience throughout...

Town Hall raises the importance of public engagement with seabed issue
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — About one hundred people attended the Town Hall meeting on deep sea mining held Wednesday evening at the Governor H. Rex Lee Auditorium. The majority of speakers voiced strong opposition to any exploration or extraction...