Sorted by date Results 176 - 200 of 252
WASHINGTON (AP) - Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who voted to convict President Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial and had called for his resignation after the Jan. 6 insurrection, announced last Friday she will run for reelection in 2022. Trump, who has focused on punishing his political opponents, has endorsed top Murkowski opponent Kelly Tshibaka, saying "Lisa Murkowski is bad for Alaska." Murkowski pushed back in a campaign video that promotes her as "independent and tough." "In...
JUNEAU (AP) — Wildlife officials have announced a one-month trapping season for wolves on and near Prince of Wales Island, despite concerns conservationists have raised about the population. A statement from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and U.S. Forest Service announced state and federal trapping seasons will run from Nov. 15 to Dec. 15. The statement cited a fall 2020 Fish and Game estimate of 386 wolves, which it called the most current estimate and one that was higher than expected “considering it followed a reported harvest of...
SEATTLE (AP) — Of the 109 cargo containers that went overboard from a cargo ship that caught fire near British Columbia last month, 105 have not been seen, according to the Canadian Coast Guard. In all, 57 tons of potassium amyl xanthate, used in mines and pulp mills, and thiourea dioxide, used to manufacture textiles, were aboard the Zim Kingston in four containers: two that fell overboard and the two that caused the onboard fire, the Seattle Times reported. The two containers containing hazardous materials are among those that have not b...
Majestic, increasingly hungry and at risk of disappearing, the polar bear is dependent on something melting away on our warming planet: sea ice. In the harsh and unforgiving Arctic, where frigid cold is not just a way of life but a necessity, the polar bear stands out. But where it lives, where it hunts, where it eats is disappearing underfoot in the crucial summertime. “They have just always been a revered species by people, going back hundreds and hundreds of years,” said longtime government polar bear researcher Steve Amstrup, now chief scie...
Attorneys general in 11 states, including Alaska, filed suit last Friday against President Joe Biden’s administration, challenging a new vaccine requirement for workers at companies with more than 100 employees. The lawsuit filed in the St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals argues that the authority to compel vaccinations rests with the states, not the federal government. “This mandate is unconstitutional, unlawful, and unwise,” said the court filing by Missouri Attorney General and political candidate Eric Schmitt, one of sever...
JUNEAU (AP) — The state corporation that paid $12 million in public funds for federal oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in the final days of the Trump administration is suing federal officials over what it calls improper actions that are preventing activities on the lands. The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority alleges federal officials have overstepped the law in suspending lease-related activities. The lease sale was held in January, shortly before President Joe Biden took office. Soon after taking o...
JUNEAU (AP) — Tribal and municipal government programs are trying to help child care providers in Juneau, but challenges remain even with higher wages and bonuses covered by the financial aid. Little Eagles and Ravens Nest Child Care Center has advertised continuously for positions since opening in February 2020, before the pandemic took hold. Pay starts around $17 an hour, and entry-level jobs come with tribal government benefits. “We now offer professional development courses and classes that we pay for. As well as … university credits that...
By Anita Snow and Terry Tang The Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) - Canadians Ian and Heather Stewart are savoring the idea of leaving behind this winter's subzero temperatures when the U.S. reopens its borders to nonessential land travel this week and they launch a long-delayed drive to their seasonal home in Fort Myers, Florida. Restrictions imposed by both countries during the coronavirus pandemic and their own concerns kept the retired couple and millions of other Canadians from driving south...
After more than 18 months without Canadian visitors, Haines could see an influx of RV traffic and coho fishermen this week. The U.S.-Canada border reopened for fully vaccinated Canadians on Monday. With coho still running and Yukoners long cut off from the sea, the quiet days of the pandemic in Haines could be waning. “Be prepared to maybe see a bunch of RVs,” said Haines Borough tourism director Steven Auch. “We’re looking forward to finally getting to see our friends we’ve been separated from forcibly for so long,” said Alaska Rod’s co-ow...
JUNEAU (AP) — The braking system on a plane carrying 42 people that overran a runway at Unalaska in 2019, killing a passenger, was compromised by anti-skid sensors that were not correctly wired, the National Transportation Safety Board determined. The incorrect wiring likely occurred during an overhaul at the landing gear manufacturer’s facility in 2017, but it was not discovered until after the accident, the Nov. 2 report said. The system “does not generate a fault (warning) based on incorrect wiring,” the report said. Also, the plane was not...
KENAI (AP) — An impromptu fundraiser to allow a Kenai library to purchase books amid accusations of censorship has twice surpassed its goal. The fund was established after the Kenai City Council delayed accepting a federal grant until the library director provides a list of the books that would be purchased with the money. The council voted Oct. 20 to postpone action that would have accepted a grant to buy library materials related to health and wellness, including mental health, suicide prevention, self-care and reference books about Medicare...
Alaska and 17 other states filed three separate lawsuits last Friday to block President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate for federal contractors, arguing that the requirement violates federal law. Attorneys general from Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming signed on to one lawsuit, which was filed in a federal district court in Missouri. Another group of states including Georgia, Alabama, Idaho, Kansas, South Carolina, Utah and West Virginia filed a lawsuit in f...
HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii’s COVID-19 case counts and hospitalizations have declined to the point where the islands are welcoming travelers once again. Gov. David Ige said vacationers and business travelers were welcome to return to the islands starting Monday. His Oct. 19 announcement came nearly two months after he asked travelers on Aug. 23 to avoid Hawaii because case counts were surging with the spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant and hospitals were becoming overwhelmed. The state didn’t impose any new travel quarantine restr...
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal health officials have extended for nearly three more months its rules that cruise ships must follow to sail during the pandemic, adding that the government will move to a voluntary program next year. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the extension makes only “minor modifications” to rules already in effect. The agency said that after Jan. 15 it plans to move to a voluntary program for cruise companies to detect and control the spread of COVID-19 on their ships. The current regulations, calle...
ANCHORAGE (AP) — The board of the Alaska Railroad has voted unanimously to rescind a requirement for all of its employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Initially, railroad employees were supposed to be vaccinated by Dec. 8 to comply with vaccine requirements ordered by President Joe Biden that, in part, required vaccination for employees of contractors doing business with the federal government. The railroad is a federal contractor. An email sent to railroad employees on Oct. 22 said the railroad must meet the standard. But the board decis...
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — A federal judge on Tuesday granted a stay in litigation seeking to save endangered salmon runs on the Columbia and Snake rivers. U.S. District Judge Michael Simon in Portland granted a request by both sides in the lawsuit seeking the stay until July 31, 2022, so they can try to negotiate a settlement in the lawsuit. Fishing and conservation groups joined with the state of Oregon, the Nez Perce Tribe and the Biden administration to seek the pause in litigation challenging the latest federal plan for hydropower operations o...
SITKA (AP) — A dozen bears have been killed in Sitka this year, including four last week, that were deemed dangers to life and property, the Daily Sitka Sentinel reported. The city “has a garbage problem,” Stephen Bethune, a wildlife biologist with the state Department of Fish and Game, told the borough assembly recently. “Neither I or any of my agency colleagues like killing bears or the labor that ensues but will continue to do so as necessary,” he said. “However, removing bears from the population only serves to treat the symptom and fails t...
ANCHORAGE (AP) — A woman known for 37 years only as Horseshoe Harriet, one of dozen or so victims of a notorious Alaska serial killer, has been identified through genetic genealogy and a DNA match, authorities said Oct. 22. The victim was identified as Robin Pelkey, who was 19 and living on the streets of Anchorage when she was killed by Robert Hansen in the early 1980s, the Alaska Bureau of Investigation’s Cold Case Investigation Unit said. Hansen, who owned a bakery, gained the nickname “Butcher Baker” for abducting and hunting down women ...
FAIRBANKS (AP) — The U.S. Air Force has selected a Fairbanks base to receive the nation’s first nuclear microreactor at an Air Force installation. Eielson Air Force Base, about 20 miles southeast of downtown Fairbanks, was selected in a project that began in 2019, when federal legislation required the military to identify potential sites for development and operation of a microreactor by 2027. “This technology has the potential to provide true energy assurance, and the existing energy infrastructure and compatible climate at Eielson make for t...
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — A group of environmental organizations filed court papers Oct. 21 to try to halt operations at Maine dams to protect salmon. Atlantic salmon are listed as endangered by the federal government. They used to swim upstream and spawn in almost every river north of the Hudson River, but now only return to Maine. The conservation groups want a judge to stop or curtail the operations at four dams on the lower Kennebec River to help the fish. Brookfield Renewable owns the dams. The company is a subsidiary of a larger Canadian c...
ANCHORAGE (AP) — Seeking a 26th term in the U.S. House, Alaska Rep. Don Young will face a Republican challenger in 2022 with strong name recognition in the state. Nicholas Begich III has filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to challenge Young’s hold on the state’s sole seat in the U.S. House. Young is only the fourth person to hold the seat since statehood and won it in a special election a year after Begich’s grandfather, Rep. Nick Begich, was declared dead after his plane went missing while flying to Juneau in 1972. But unl...
ANCHORAGE (AP) — An Alabama man living in Alaska whom a judge alleged was “leading the charge” during the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol was denied release Oct. 21 in an Alaska courtroom while his case proceeds. Christian Matthew Manley waived his right to preliminary hearing and asked that he be immediately transferred to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the jurisdiction prosecuting those charged in the riot. Manley faces several charges, including assaulting or resisting officers using a dangerous weapon; civil...
JUNEAU (AP) — The longest-serving Republican in the U.S. House is appearing in a new round of ads urging Alaskans to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Ads featuring Rep. Don Young are being paid for by the Conquer COVID Coalition, Young spokesperson Zack Brown said by email Monday. The coalition, which includes businesses and health care and Alaska Native organizations, seeks to educate people on steps to guard against COVID-19. Young, 88, “believes the vaccines are safe, effective and can help save lives,” Brown said in response to quest...
The U.S. will reopen its land borders to nonessential travel next month — including entry into Alaska from Canada — ending a 20-month freeze due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The new rules will apply to all border crossing points, including the highways leading to Haines and Skagway in Southeast Alaska. “Everybody’s chomping at the bit to get to Alaska,” Yukon Territory Premier Sandy Silver told the Yukon News. “We expect there to be a large convoy of visitors coming from the Yukon the minute that border opens,” said Skagway Mayor Andrew Cremata. ...
ANCHORAGE (AP) — The Alaska Federation of Natives annual convention, the largest gathering of Indigenous people in the state, will be all virtual again this year, organizers announced last Friday. The decision was made after federation leaders consulted with state federal and tribal health officials and reviewed current COVID-19 data trends, according to a statement. The federation decided to go all virtual out of concern for the safety of the thousands of people from across the state who normally attend in person, the statement said. The conve...
