A domestic dispute at Oswald Harris Court on Wednesday afternoon escalated into violence and property destruction. Glaston Smith, a visitor to the island, was arrested and jailed without bail after allegedly destroying a television with a bottle and assaulting his girlfriend over a phone call from her ex-boyfriend regarding a summer camp. Read the full direct-from-the-dockets breakdown.

A robust high-pressure system over the western Atlantic is tightening the regional pressure gradient, bringing unseasonably breezy conditions and hazardous seas to the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. With Memorial Day weekend approaching, the National Weather Service has issued a Small Craft Advisory through midweek and warns of persistent moderate rip currents across local beaches. Read the full briefing for regional breakdowns, marine safety updates, and the long-range holiday outlook.

The St. Croix Sun reports on an upcoming emergency meeting between Governor Albert Bryan Jr. and the U.S. Coast Guard. The summit follows federal Captain of the Port orders banning the M/V Water Spirit II and M/V Admirals Pride from utilizing Mediterranean-style mooring at Pier 10 in San Juan. Local officials are warning that an immediate cargo halt could severely impact the territory's essential food, grocery, and construction supply chains.

The St. Croix Sun’s latest corporate tech brief details the final verdict in the landmark federal trial between Elon Musk and OpenAI. A California jury unanimously found CEO Sam Altman and OpenAI not liable for breach of contract, ruling that Musk missed the statute of limitations deadline. The swift dismissal clears the way for OpenAI's upcoming $1 trillion IPO, though Musk's legal team has vowed to appeal the ruling.

The St. Croix Sun updates its Court Watch coverage with the weekend arrest details of 69-year-old Hubert Charles. Following a 911 emergency call regarding a domestic dispute on St. Croix, responding police officers recovered an unlicensed firearm and ammunition. Charles was remanded on $50,000 bail and faced Judge Yolan C. Brow Ross on Monday morning for an Advice of Rights hearing.

The second installment of the St. Croix Sun’s investigative series exposes the devastating operational and emotional toll of Meta’s "laissez-faire" security architecture. Independent business owners and news publishers report being locked out of their corporate assets for months at a time due to rigid, automated systems that lack real-world flexibility. Operating with a complete absence of human oversight, the multi-billion-dollar tech giant leaves vital digital commerce infrastructure stranded in a faceless corporate stonewall, even as U.S. Virgin Islands Attorney General Gordon C. Rhea turns up the legal heat on Meta's failure to curb digital fraud in the territory.

An Advice of Rights complaint filed in the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands on St. Thomas details the arrest of Keezi J. Pinney following a head-on collision on Smith Bay Road. According to a police affidavit, Pinney crossed double yellow lines, struck another vehicle, and plunged 75 feet over an embankment. Responding officers noted extreme signs of intoxication and belligerence; Pinney subsequently refused all sobriety and chemical testing before posting a $1,000 bail.

The U.S. Virgin Islands are starting the week with a blend of clearing morning skies and high heat, as an arriving band of dry air promises plenty of sunshine for today's cruise ship arrivals. High humidity will push afternoon feel-like temperatures into the low 100s, while steady trade winds keep local seas choppy with a moderate rip current risk. This warm, breezy pattern will dominate the next few days before a deeper surge of moisture brings a higher probability of scattered showers and localized flooding over the holiday weekend.

The Department of Planning and Natural Resources (DPNR) released its weekly territorial Beach Water Quality Monitoring Program advisory on Friday, May 15, 2026, revealing a massive testing blackout for the island of St. Croix and sister island St. John. While 11 beaches on St. Thomas were cleared as safe, environmental officials completely skipped sampling on the sister islands, leaving local families, fishermen, and beachgoers entirely in the dark with an "unknown" water quality status ahead of the weekend.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a nationwide health alert following a staggering 359 percent surge in reported cases of dengue fever. According to an official federal surveillance report, documented infections have skyrocketed past historical averages, prompting federal health officials to warn residents and travelers throughout the Caribbean basin to take immediate preventative measures against mosquito-borne transmission.

Virgin Islanders face a split-screen forecast this week as a punishing 105°F heat index battles an incoming upper-level rain trough. Whether you are digging ditches or lounging at the beach, expect sweltering morning humidity to give way to sudden afternoon downpours and localized flash flooding risks. Rough 4-to-6-foot seas and dangerous rip currents continue across the territory as the NWS officially resumes tropical tracking for the season.

CRIME WATCH: A gruesome morning discovery on St. Thomas marks the territory's 12th homicide of 2026. After overnight ShotSpotter alerts detected a barrage of gunfire, a concerned citizen discovered the body of 54-year-old Luciano A. Warrell Jr. on Yellow Cedar Avenue in Estate Tutu. Read the full police report and find out how to submit anonymous tips.

DIRECT-TO-DOCKETS: Nearly six years after the tragic highway shooting death of 20-year-old Reynisha Juanita Rivera, court records obtained by The St. Croix Sun reveal an eleventh-hour plea deal that blindsided a grieving family. Discover how a confessed gunman escaped a mandatory life sentence with a 20-year cap, causing the murder conspiracy case against his co-defendant to completely collapse.

Charles Woodson Jr., a standout defensive back from Lake Nona High School in Orlando, Florida, officially committed to the University of Michigan on Friday, choosing to carry on one of the most celebrated names in college football history.

Saturday, May 16, 2026, marks a distinct turning point for the U.S. Virgin Islands. While local skies show a familiar mix of hazy sunshine and passing moisture, the broader meteorological calendar officially shifted into pre-season vigilance this weekend. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) has issued its first daily Tropical Weather Outlooks for the 2026 Atlantic season.

Three months ago, our sister publication broke an exclusive scoop regarding Delegate Stacey Plaskett’s maneuvering for a 2026 Government House run. Today, the conversation surrounding that race has evolved from political theater into hard statutory reality, thanks to a deep-dive public audit by local observer Selwyn King.

In the relentless 111°F heat currently baking the territory, the search for refreshment is a survival instinct. But what if the very thing you reach for is a biological trap? We audit the "Kidney Killer" sitting in your fridge.

ShotSpotter technology detected a barrage of gunfire at 8:17 a.m. Tuesday in the Mon Bijou area. Kaleem O. Iles, 47, was discovered with multiple gunshot wounds and later succumbed to his injuries at the hospital.

A major legal challenge filed in V.I. Superior Court is threatening to upend the prosecution of a teenager accused in the 2025 shooting death of Jordan “Dutty Heart” Jones.

The motion, filed by the Office of the Territorial Public Defender, argues that the Virgin Islands’ first-degree murder statute is unconstitutional when applied to juveniles. At the center of the storm is Angelo Javier Carmona, who was 15 years old when he allegedly shot Jones over a gold chain in June 2025.

The biggest "hazard" through Sunday is definitely the temperature. While a formal Heat Advisory hasn't been issued yet, the combination of humidity and sunshine is pushing heat indices up to 111°F.