John McCarthy is primarily known for his investigative reporting on the U.S. Virgin Islands. A series of reports beginning in the 1990's revealed that there was everything from coliform bacteria to Cryptosporidium in locally-bottled St. Croix drinking water, according to a then-unpublished University of the Virgin Islands sampling. Another report, following Hurricane Hugo in 1989, cited a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) confidential overview that said that over 40 percent of the U.S. Virgin Islands public lives below the poverty line. The Virgin Islands Free Press is the only Caribbean news source to regularly incorporate the findings of U.S. Freedom of Information Act requests. John's articles have appeared in the BVI Beacon, St. Croix Avis, San Juan Star and Virgin Islands Daily News. He is the former news director of WSVI-TV Channel 8 on St. Croix.
CHRISTIANSTED — St. Croix will see a brief shower or two this morning; otherwise, it will be partly sunny and humid with a high of 88, AccuWeather said. Tonight St.…
CHARLOTTE AMALIE — The beach that has failed water quality testing the most times in the last ten years — has not been tested at all in 2025, the Virgin Islands Free…
SANTA FE, New Mexico (AP) — Actor Gene Hackman died of heart disease a full week after his wife died from hantavirus in their New Mexico hillside home, likely unaware aware that she was…
BROWNSVILLE, Texas — SpaceX's massive Starship spacecraft exploded in space on Thursday minutes after lifting off from Texas, causing the FAA to halt air traffic in parts of Florida, in…
COLUMBIA — The South Carolina convict who died by firing squad today chose Kentucky Fried Chicken for his last meal, which he shared with his death row buddies, according to…
BOSTON — A JetBlue pilot who was arrested on his own plane and then freed on bail last month over a child sex charge killed himself today as police closed in for…
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump is — at least publicly — attempting to reign in Elon Musk and the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) amid growing pushback from the public,…
WUHAN, China — As the world marks five years since the devastating arrival of COVID-19, new revelations continue to emerge about the origins of the virus that brought global life to…
CHARLOTTE AMALIE — The Virgin Islands Department of Health said that Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease (HFMD) continues to spread among children on St. Thomas. To date, there are a total…
CHARLOTTE AMALIE — A St. Thomas man remains in jail today following a February 28 incident in which he gun-butted the victim's head and put a loaded handgun in his…