Clarise Larson

In this newscast: There have been more than a dozen political protests at the Alaska State Capitol since President Donald Trump took office in January. But members of an anti-abortion group called Alaskans for Life who gathered on Thursday said they didn’t have specific demands for legislators; Alaska could lose several research institutions and a pipeline into science for budding researchers in the state – that’s if the Trump administration’s proposed cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s budget become a reality; The Trump administration is planning an Alaska summit with leaders from Japan and South Korea in early June; A state legislator from Palmer is proposing to enshrine Alaska’s giant cabbages in state law as the official state vegetable.

In this newscast: The Juneau Assembly and cruise line agencies will hold a joint meeting Thursday afternoon to discuss the cruise ship tourism season ahead; Alaska lawmakers failed to override Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s veto of a bill that would have provided a $1,000 boost to basic per-student funding for public schools; A lot has changed at the University of Alaska since President Trump’s inauguration. After executive orders, the University of Alaska Board of Regents directed its university leadership to remove mentions of diversity, equity and inclusion to protect its federal funding. But the Trump administration still froze or canceled millions of dollars in federal funding; The ocean off Utqiagvik is covered with ragged sea ice ridges in early April. Iñupiat whalers build trails across the blue and white terrain to access hunting sites along the lead edge. It’s hard to imagine a better spot for studying sea ice. And that’s why a group of  Indigenous knowledge holders and Western scientists gathered there earlier this month; Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin was in a second trial this week for her libel case against the New York Times. And for the second time, a jury found that she was not libeled by the publication.