marshall islands

Paul Petersen, a lawyer and former Arizona public official, was sentenced to six years in federal prison for his role in orchestrating an illegal adoption scheme involving pregnant women from the Marshall Islands.

Federal Judge Sentences Ex-Arizona Official For 'Baby-Selling Enterprise'

5:05pm December 02, 2020

by Brakkton Booker

Paul Petersen was sentenced for his role in an international smuggling scheme trafficking pregnant women from the Marshall Islands to the U.S. for the purpose of having their babies adopted.

Two people arriving from the U.S. tested positive for the coronavirus in the Marshall Islands, shown here in 2017.

Remote Marshall Islands Record First Confirmed Coronavirus Cases

2:31pm October 29, 2020

by Reese Oxner

Two people arriving from the U.S. tested positive at a U.S. military base, ending the nation's run as one of the few in the world with zero known coronavirus cases.

Maricopa County, Ariz., Assessor Paul Petersen is accused of smuggling pregnant women from the Marshall Islands and paying them to give birth in the United States. In Arizona, Petersen has been indicted on theft, fraud and forgery charges for allegedly cl

National

Arizona Official Arrested In Alleged 'Baby Mill' Adoption Fraud Scheme

6:18pm October 09, 2019

by Bobby Allyn

Maricopa County Assessor Paul Petersen has been arrested for allegedly transporting dozens of women from the Marshall Islands to give birth for adoptions. Authorities accuse him of human smuggling.

Terry Mote (right) visits the home of Stanley and Lorit Jamor in Enid, Okla. Stanley was born on Bikini atoll, and is a descendant of Chief Juda, who was told in 1946 by Commodore Ben H. Wyatt, of the U.S. Navy, to give up the island homeland "for the goo

A Policy Knot Leaves Oklahomans From Marshall Islands Struggling To Get Health Care

4:58am December 25, 2018

Their former homeland was a U.S. testing site for nuclear bombs, but they can't get Medicare or Medicaid in Oklahoma. A resident of Enid, Okla., who was born in the islands is trying to change that.

A U.S. nuclear test at Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands, in July 1946.

Tiny Marshall Islands Taking On 3 World Nuclear Powers In Court

6:04pm March 07, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

The archipelago, which was the site of dozens of U.S. nuclear tests in the 1940s and '50s, is suing India, Pakistan and the United Kingdom in the International Court of Justice.