Restrictions on the ivory industry are multiplying in the U.S., causing concern for artists in Alaska. Alaska Native carvers do have a degree of protection under federal law. But, non-Native carvers who only work with fossilized ivory are not shielded in the same way.
Federal Government
Trump: No politician ‘has been treated worse or more unfairly’ than me
“You can’t let the critics and the naysayers get in the way of your dreams,” the president told U.S. Coast Guard Academy graduates amid growing controversies over Russia in the Trump administration.
Sullivan calls for White House ‘discipline’; Murkowski mulls special prosecutor
Sen. Murkowski said the news out of the Trump White House keeps raising serious questions. “You know, the administration’s trying to figure out how they dig out of that hole, and then the next day there’s another hole that they’re digging,” she said.
Addiction experts: Health secretary’s comments on opioid treatments unscientific and damaging
Addiction experts are up in arms after Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price referred to medication-assisted treatment as “substituting one opioid for another.”
Trump’s expected pick for top USDA scientist is not a scientist
Sam Clovis is likely to be named undersecretary of the USDA department that manages research on everything from climate change to nutrition.
Sen. Sullivan discusses Comey, Obamacare and DeVos at town hall
Organizers urged respectful dialogue rather than a shouting match. And for the most part the audience complied. But many flashed green and red placards to signal approval or disapproval of Sullivan’s statements.
Can’t pay your student loans? The government may come after your house
A new federal program in 19 cities around the country allows the government to sue for unpaid student loan debt.
Sessions tells prosecutors to seek ‘most serious’ charges, stricter sentences
The move, which was announced in a memo, reverses an Obama-era recommendation that asked federal prosecutors not to hit low-level drug offenders with charges that carry mandatory minimum sentences.
Trump tweet suggests his conversations with Comey might have been recorded
The president seemed to be cautioning the former FBI director against “leaking to the press.” Democrats have already seized on the tweets and requested that any such tapes be provided to Congress.
Return to sender: Juneau pot business blocked from mailing tax payments
The U.S. Postal Service says Alaska’s pot businesses can’t mail their state tax payments. Without guidance from the Justice Department or an act of Congress, the postal office is blocking attempts to mail tax payments to the state tax office in Anchorage.