Eleven Alaskans testified before the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Thursday — for and against drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. While senators said they wanted to listen to the people of the Arctic, many seemed to hear selectively.
Nation & World
Can Congress squeeze $1B from ANWR?
The U.S. Senate will hold a hearing today on whether to allow drilling in the refuge as part of the Republican tax plan, and now the environmental argument has shifted.
Entangled: Making the sea safer for whales
More than 30 times this year, the federal government has received reports of whales tangled in fishing gear along the West Coast. Sometimes the whales manage to wriggle free. Other times you see heart-rending pictures on the news or a rescue mission.
Motorist drives onto Manhattan bike path, killing several people
“The vehicle struck multiple people on the path,” police said Tuesday. Authorities say the suspect was shot and taken into custody after leaving the vehicle and “displaying imitation firearms.”
A ‘tall tale’ with some truth to it: Don Young defended earmarks with a sharp edge
A story emerged publicly for the first time Sunday, from the mouth of former House Speaker John Boehner, who told Politico Magazine that Young once “pinned Boehner against a wall in the House and held a 10-inch knife to his throat” during a disagreement over earmarks. (Young was pro-earmark. Boehner was not.)
Ex-Trump campaign aide pleads guilty over Russia contacts; ex-chair, aide charged
Trump’s former campaign chairman and a top aide are charged with money laundering; a former foreign policy aide has pleaded guilty to lying to FBI.
Alaska Army pilot killed in helicopter crash in Afghanistan
A U.S. soldier from Alaska was killed in a helicopter crash in eastern Afghanistan on Friday. The Department of Defense released the name of Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jacob Michael Sims on Sunday. He was 36.
ANWR drilling clears another hurdle in Congress
The U.S. House has passed the Senate’s budget resolution, and with it the seeds of legislation that could open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling. The resolution itself has no force of law but it tells committees in the House and Senate to draw up a bill that includes tax cuts.
Trump’s opioid disaster declaration could expand help to suffering Alaskans
President Donald Trump took a major step in dealing with the opioid epidemic killing tens of thousands of Americans a year. “I am directing all executive agencies to use every appropriate emergency authority to fight the opioid crisis,” the president proclaimed Thursday.
Trump administration declares opioid crisis a public health emergency
The move stops short of declaring a national emergency, which the president had pledged to do.