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Duty Free Saipan Ltd., which operates T Galleria in the tourist district of Garapan, will be closing shop by April 30, 2025, after nearly five decades on Saipan, according to DFS Group Limited, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Gov. Arnold Palacios, and CNMI delegate to Congress, Kimberly King-Hinds.

A group of House Republicans raised alarms Wednesday about the minimum $1.5 trillion in spending cuts required by the chamber’s budget resolution, as House leadership tries to shore up support for a floor vote on the measure when the chamber returns next week.

Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, co-chair of his party’s Congressional Hispanic Conference, led a letter to Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., highlighting the damage cuts to programs including Medicaid, Pell Grants and food stamps would have on their constituents and others around the country.

U.S. Congresswoman Kimberlyn King-Hinds is asking the U.S. Department of the Treasury to oversee foreign investments in the CNMI to prevent potential national security risks, saying that “our national security decisions must be based on facts, not fear.”

In her letter on Feb. 3, 2025, King-Hinds urged Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to take further action to safeguard national economic and security interests in the CNMI, saying that “it is imperative that we ensure foreign investments in the CNMI align with U.S. national security priorities.”