The island community of Tinian ramped up the blistering summer heat with the eighth staging of the increasingly popular annual Tinian Hot Pepper Festival on Feb. 18 and 19.

The Taiwanese government, through the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Guam, paid for the Taipei trip of six lawmakers led by House Speaker Eli Cabrera (R-Saipan) and Senate President Paul Manglona (Ind-Rota), who are now back in the CNMI.

One of the top news programs in the Philippines, ABS-CBN’s TV Patrol, covered the arrival of the remains of slain bartender Emerita “Emie” Romero at the Manila international airport Saturday night.

Employees in the CNMI are among the 160 million workers in the United States that will benefit from an extended 2 percent Social Security payroll tax cut that Congress voted with rare speed on Friday and is expected to be signed by President Barack Obama soon.