The federal government of the United States: the three branches (legislative, executive, judicial) and the agencies, commissions, and departments that report into them.
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Doug Burgum
“This administration has done more to save, protect and expand coal in our country than any administration perhaps ever.”President Trump Makes an Announcement on Beautiful, Clean Coal · Jun 4, 2026
Speaker B
“You cannot go straight to community care as a veteran. That's just false. You can't just— I can't tomorrow just decide to go to community care.”Senate Veterans' Affairs (Sullivan): Hearings to examine the President's proposed budget request for fiscal year 2027 and 2028 advance appropriations requests for the Department of Veterans Affairs. · May 20, 2026
Speaker A
“more than $8 billion of the $10.9 billion increase for healthcare services in FY '27 is for community care. The difference is even more significant in the department's FY28 advance request, with the VA asking for a $17 billion increase in community care and near stagnant levels for direct care.”Senate Veterans' Affairs (Sullivan): Hearings to examine the President's proposed budget request for fiscal year 2027 and 2028 advance appropriations requests for the Department of Veterans Affairs. · May 20, 2026
West Coast sablefish season loses its time-of-day rules Aug. 6
A federal rule effective Aug. 6 ends time-of-day limits on the West Coast sablefish season and sets up a cost recovery fee program deferred until December 2027.
by Alaska News2mo ago1 min readAI
Yakutat's dusky rockfish season closes after filling its 150-ton share
Federal managers closed directed fishing for dusky rockfish in the West Yakutat District of the Gulf of Alaska through Dec. 31 after the 150-ton directed allowance filled.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Whale permit for Juneau's fifth cruise dock issued with no public comment
Federal regulators approved a permit letting construction of Juneau's fifth cruise ship dock disturb whales and Steller sea lions in Gastineau Channel, after a comment period drew no responses.
by Alaska Newsadded 2mo ago1 min readAI
Nine years of one-year permits in the waters where the North Slope hunts
NMFS is taking comment through Aug. 21 on a ninth annual permit allowing Navy research to disturb marine mammals in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas, where North Slope communities hunt bowhead.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Alaska veterans fly to Seattle for cancer care. The Senate is arguing over why.
A Senate Veterans' Affairs hearing examined VA precision oncology funding, a question with stakes for Alaska veterans referred to Seattle for specialty cancer care.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
The Yentna is a foot over flood stage, and cabins are taking water
The Yentna River at Lake Creek is a foot above flood stage, with water in cabins at Anglers Inn and King Point Lodges, as flood advisories cover the Western and Central Susitna Valley.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
The program mapping Alaska's unknown ground expires this year
Bipartisan House bills would reauthorize the USGS Earth Mapping Resources Initiative, which has nearly doubled Alaska's public subsurface geologic data since 2019, through 2031.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min readAI
Alaska has the most earthquakes. The program that watches them expired in 2023.
A House committee voted to reauthorize the federal earthquake program, expired since 2023, along with a geothermal bill aimed at cutting diesel dependence in remote Alaska communities.
by Melinda Communities.Newsadded 2mo ago2 min readAI
A permitting bill could open the federal fast lane to Alaska projects
A bipartisan bill would lower the FAST-41 permitting threshold from $200 million to $50 million, opening federal fast-track review to far more Alaska infrastructure projects.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min readAI
A cattle parasite Alaska will never see could still cost Alaskans
A House subcommittee heard testimony on the SAFE Cattle Act, which would coordinate federal screwworm response — a cattle threat that reaches Alaska through beef prices.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min readAI
The sea lions in Congress's salmon bill breed in Southeast Alaska
A House subcommittee heard competing testimony Tuesday on a bill that would let Washington state and tribal co-managers kill more sea lions across the Columbia River and Western Washington. Supporters cited a dramatic drop in steelhead extinction risk at Willamette Falls; a minority scientist warned habitat loss, not predation, is the real problem.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min readAI
The Army's last airborne cavalry squadron made its final jump at JBER
The Army reflagged the 1-40th Cavalry at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson as the 1st Battalion, 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment, ending its last airborne cavalry squadron.
by Alaska News2mo ago1 min readAI
EPA proposes a $5,859 penalty over Dutch Harbor discharges
The EPA proposed a $5,859 Clean Water Act penalty against UniSea for discharges into Iliuliuk Harbor at Dutch Harbor, with public comment open through August 19.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Nome port's national security designation could save city $132 million in construction costs
A Senate committee bill classifies the Port of Nome's infrastructure as a federal national security interest and prohibits any reduction in the project's scope or capability, building on a 2022 provision that cut the city's cost share and saved it roughly $132 million. Construction at the port is already underway this summer.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Rocket Lab wins $266 million DoD contract for suborbital launches from Kodiak spaceport
The U.S. Department of Defense awarded Rocket Lab a $266 million firm-fixed-price contract Tuesday for 12 suborbital HASTE launches from the state-owned Pacific Spaceport Complex – Alaska on Kodiak Island, with an option for six additional missions by Dec. 31, 2028.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago2 min readAI
Alaska's fishermen got left out of an $11 billion farm rescue
Alaska fishermen are excluded from the administration's $11 billion farm disaster request, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski pressed Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on whether they'll be covered.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
A storm hits Norton Sound just before Friday's gillnet opening
A storm bringing 45 mph gusts and 9-foot seas reaches Norton Sound Thursday, ahead of a 24-hour commercial salmon gillnet opening Friday in Subdistricts 5 and 6.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Bering Sea low to push 13-foot seas into Bristol Bay, Kuskokwim Delta Wednesday
NWS Anchorage issued Special Weather Statements Tuesday for the Northern Bristol Bay Coast and Kuskokwim Delta Coast, warning of waves up to 14 feet and gusts to 45 mph Wednesday afternoon into Thursday as a strong Bering Sea low moves through during peak fishing season.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Heat advisory in effect for Ketchikan, Hyder, and Annette Island until 7 PM
NWS Juneau issued a heat advisory Tuesday for Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Hyder, and Annette Island, warning that interior locations could hit 80 degrees and that residents unaccustomed to the heat face risk of heat exhaustion or heat stroke.
by Alaska News2mo ago1 min readAI
Crews are cutting firebreaks in the woods at the center of Anchorage
Segments of the Speedway, Viewpoint, and Moose Meadow trails in Anchorage's Campbell Tract are closed through July 25 while crews maintain wildfire fuel breaks.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Wrangell-St. Elias closes section of Root Glacier Trail after landslide risk found
Park geologists identified unstable ground and landslide potential on the moraine at the northern end of the Root Glacier Trail in July 2026, prompting an immediate closure that affects one of the park's most-visited summer destinations near Kennecott.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Sullivan campaign ad features veteran the VA told to leave Alaska for care
Sen. Dan Sullivan's campaign released its second statewide ad Monday, featuring retired Marine Lance Corporal Nick Woodard, who says the VA initially required him to relocate to Seattle for care after a car accident, until Sullivan intervened.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Peltola challenges Sullivan for Alaska's U.S. Senate seat
Mary Peltola, the first Alaska Native elected to Congress, is running against Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan for Alaska's U.S. Senate seat on November 3, 2026. Her 2024 congressional loss by fewer than 7,000 votes, combined with an 11-point overperformance of the Democratic ticket, has made the race a national target for Democrats.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Rockfall risk added to Anchorage flood watch as second rain round targets Monday commute
NWS Anchorage warns that a second round of moderate to heavy rain is likely to hit the Anchorage Bowl during Monday's morning commute, falling on already saturated ground and raising the risk of rockfalls along the Seward Highway south of Anchorage. The Flood Watch runs from 4 AM through Monday evening.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Flood Watch expands to Anchorage and Kenai Peninsula as atmospheric river intensifies
NWS Anchorage expanded its Flood Watch Sunday to cover Anchorage, Eagle River, and both sides of the Kenai Peninsula, while a separate Flood Advisory remains in effect for the Yentna River near Lake Creek, where the river is forecast to crest at 21.6 feet by Tuesday afternoon and put cabins at risk.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Five Nome-area tribes sue Army Corps over Safety Sound gold dredge permit
Five Alaska Native tribes filed suit in Alaska District Court challenging the Army Corps of Engineers' Clean Water Act permit for IPOP LLC's Bonanza Channel suction dredge project, which would disturb more than 150 acres of Safety Sound estuary critical to subsistence hunting and fishing. The Alaska DNR has separately rejected the company's state permits.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min readAI
BLM sets August 17 deadline to protest Alaska survey plat filings
The Bureau of Land Management Alaska State Office has published a Federal Register notice giving landowners and other interested parties until Aug. 17, 2026, to file written protests against survey plats being officially filed in Alaska.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
The SAVE Act now rides on the defense bill Alaska wants
Sen. Lisa Murkowski announced in a July 17 Wall Street Journal op-ed that she will vote against the SAVE Act, using specific scenarios to show the bill's in-person proof-of-citizenship requirement could cost some Alaskans more than $1,000 just to register to vote. Rep. Nick Begich co-sponsored the bill and voted for it in the U.S. House.
by Alaska News2mo ago2 min readAI
Kennicott River rising after Hidden Creek Lake drains; crest expected Monday
Wrangell-St. Elias rangers confirmed significant water releases next to Kennicott Glacier on Sunday after Hidden Creek Lake began dropping Saturday. NWS Anchorage says the river will crest by Monday evening, with hazards extending downstream to the Chitina and Copper Rivers.
by Alaska News2mo ago2 min readAI
Savoonga's voting barriers surface in Senate election-integrity debate
Sen. Lisa Murkowski's invocation of Savoonga in a Senate election-integrity debate has elevated a documented, ongoing access problem: Alaska's absentee rules require handwritten signatures and bar email ballot returns, conditions that compound mail delays in an air-only Bering Sea village of about 870 people, with the mail-ballot application deadline for the August primary falling on August 8.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Air Force seeks contractor to install communications gear at remote Shemya outpost
The 766th Enterprise Sourcing Squadron issued an RFQ Friday to install a communications container and optional tower at Eareckson Air Station on Shemya Island, with quotes due July 24 and a five-week construction window ending August 31.
by Alaska News2mo ago1 min readAI
Flood Watch issued for Seward as atmospheric river targets Kenai Peninsula through Tuesday
NWS Anchorage issued a Flood Watch for the Southern Kenai Mountains through Tuesday morning, warning that an atmospheric river could drop 3 to 5 inches of rain on Seward starting Sunday, with a 20 percent chance of up to 6 inches.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Alaska's senators voted to let a Medicare AI pilot keep running
The U.S. Senate rejected a three-year ACA subsidy extension 51-48 Thursday, nine votes short of the 60 needed. Both Alaska senators voted yes, but subsidies are set to expire Dec. 31, which health advocates project will double premiums for roughly 22 million Americans, with Alaskans especially exposed.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Fairbanks water scoopers were on practice flight, not a new fire
Four single-engine water scooper aircraft seen over Fairbanks on Friday were conducting a routine practice flight to maintain pilot currency, not responding to a new wildfire, according to USFWS Alaska.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Murkowski bill targets Alaska's rural health shortage with immigrant credential grants
Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Sen. Tim Kaine introduced the Welcome Back to the Health Care Workforce Act on Friday, creating a federal grant program to help internationally educated health professionals already living in the U.S. clear licensing barriers, with priority for rural and shortage communities like much of Alaska.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Peltola reports $16 million raised, accuses Sullivan of taking $400K from trawling industry
Senate candidate Mary Peltola reported Thursday raising more than $16 million from over 131,000 donors at an average of less than $50, while alleging incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan has accepted nearly $400,000 from the trawling industry, a figure that carries direct stakes for subsistence and commercial fishers across rural Alaska.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Senate bill would fast-track Army Corps engineering for Juneau's glacial flooding
A Senate committee bill directs the Army Corps of Engineers to skip intermediate study steps and move directly to preconstruction planning for a permanent solution to Juneau's recurring glacial lake outburst flooding. The measure still needs full Senate passage and a presidential signature.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min readAI
Yukon District 3 closes to fall chum and coho subsistence Saturday as treaty goals fall short
ADF&G Emergency Order 3-S-FY-01-26 shuts directed subsistence fishing for fall chum and coho in District 3 at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, July 18, hitting Russian Mission, Holy Cross, Shageluk, and surrounding villages; the 2026 run is projected above 300,000 fish but is not expected to meet Canadian treaty obligations.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Rain forecast for Yentna and Skwentna gravel bars through Monday night
NWS Anchorage warned Friday that 1.5 to 2.5 inches of rain expected Saturday night through Monday night will push the Yentna and Skwentna river systems to bankfull by Tuesday, putting gravel-bar camps and low-lying recreation spots at risk of inundation.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Matt Schultz suspends U.S. House campaign, backs Bill Hill
Matt Schultz announced Friday he is suspending his campaign for Alaska's U.S. House seat and endorsing fellow candidate Bill Hill ahead of the Aug. 18 primary.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI