The federal government of the United States: the three branches (legislative, executive, judicial) and the agencies, commissions, and departments that report into them.
Washington, DC, USA
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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
Senate panel hears testimony on bill to ban youth gender care
A Senate committee heard conflicting testimony on federal legislation to ban hormone therapies and surgeries for minors with gender dysphoria. A detransitioner and medical professionals presented opposing views on the evidence base for such care.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago2 min read
Federal highway chief commits to King Cove Road action
Federal Highway Administrator Sean McMaster told the Senate he will push the King Cove Road forward and visit Alaska in late June. The project has faced decades of environmental review over its route through Izembek National Wildlife Refuge.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Second Dan Sullivan files for Alaska U.S. Senate race
A Petersburg resident named Dan Sullivan has filed to challenge incumbent U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan in Alaska's 2026 Senate race. Social-media posts confirm this is the third Dan Sullivan in Alaska politics.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago1 min readSullivan raises $2.1M in Q1, lands labor and Native-corporation endorsements
Senator Dan Sullivan's campaign reports $7.5 million cash-on-hand after raising $2.1 million in Q1 2026, while securing endorsements from Alaska Teamsters Local 959, Alaska District Council of Laborers, United Fishermen of Alaska, and the ANCSA Regional Association representing 135,000 Alaska Native shareholders.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago1 min read
Alaska fire agencies open 11 wildfire investigations in four days
Fire agencies opened investigations at 11 locations from the Kenai Peninsula to the Interior between June 1 and June 4. The burst coincides with back-to-back Red Flag warnings signaling critical fire weather.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago2 min read
Challenger named Dan Sullivan files against Senator Dan Sullivan
A candidate with the same name as incumbent U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan has filed to challenge him, creating potential voter confusion on Alaska's 2026 federal ballot.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago1 min read
Red Flag Warning covers Southwest Alaska through Wednesday
National Weather Service issued Red Flag Warnings for multiple Southwest Alaska regions through June 3. The rare multi-region alert affects rural communities from the Kuskokwim Valley to Bristol Bay, where warm temperatures, low humidity, and strong winds create critical fire conditions.
by Alaska Newsadded 4mo ago2 min read
Mat-Su, Kenai burn permits suspended as fire activity surges
Burn permits are suspended across Mat-Su and Kenai-Kodiak Fire Prevention Areas starting June 1 due to hot, dry, windy conditions and a spike in human-caused fires. Debris burning, lawn burning, and burn barrels are prohibited until conditions improve.
by Alaska Newsadded 4mo ago2 min read
Three years after Typhoon Merbok, Alaska's rebuild continues
Three years after Typhoon Merbok, Western Alaska's road back keeps reaching the next milestone — and a separate Dalton washout is now in the same queue
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Alaska's filing deadline turned the 2026 election from rumor into a real race
Alaska's 2026 election filing deadline produced a 17-ticket governor's race, crowded federal contests including Mary Peltola's shift to the Senate race, and several competitive state House rematches and open seats.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago3 min read
Alaska tightens stormwater rules for industrial sites, with no more easy "too expensive" exits
The 2026 Multi-Sector General Permit becomes effective June 1, imposing updated compliance requirements on approximately 350 industrial facilities statewide—including ports, refineries, mining operations, and airports—with new electronic reporting mandates, revised benchmark monitoring, and tighter corrective action deadlines that operators must meet within 120 days.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Trump order on off-road vehicle rules could reshape Alaska federal-land access fights
President Trump rescinded two executive orders governing off-road vehicle use on federal lands, directing agencies to rewrite access rules that could affect Alaska development, recreation, and subsistence use across the 60% of the state under federal ownership.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
DNR advances Graphite One drilling permit near Nome
DNR's Northern Regional Office reissued Land Use Permit LAS 34053 to Graphite One (Alaska) Inc. on May 29 for exploration drilling on state-managed land near Nome. The decision is a reissuance of an existing authorization; broader project context is not part of the public notice.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Challenger named Dan Sullivan files for U.S. Senate race against incumbent Dan Sullivan
A second candidate legally named Dan Sullivan has filed against incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan, creating the first major test of Alaska's top-four primary and ranked-choice voting system's ability to handle potential voter confusion tactics. This is a concrete, verifiable filing with statewide implications that legacy outlets may be avoiding due to partisan framing.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Alaska water systems face July deadlines to claim PFAS settlement funds or lose right to sue
More than 20 Alaska public water systems face hard July 2026 deadlines to claim their share of $14 billion in national PFAS settlements—miss them and they permanently forfeit both settlement money and the right to sue 3M and DuPont, creating urgent stakes for small utilities and tribal systems statewide.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago2 min read
Alaska Supreme Court clarifies active-efforts standard in Jace B. ICWA case
The May 29 opinion in Jace B. v. State (S-19490, No. 2035) addresses whether OCS met ICWA's active-efforts requirement when seeking to terminate parental rights to a newborn identified as an Indian child through tribal eligibility. The court applies existing doctrine to fact-specific circumstances rather than rewriting the framework.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
AIDEA approves $190 million for ANWR seismic surveys and lease evaluation
AIDEA Board just approved $190 million for ANWR seismic work and potential new lease bids in June 2026, banking on incoming Trump administration to reverse Biden-era restrictions that made previous leases economically unviable. This represents one of Alaska's largest-ever investments in Arctic oil development.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
ANWR lease sale will test whether Alaska oil appetite reaches the Arctic Refuge
BLM opens bids June 5 on an ANWR Coastal Plain lease sale. After a canceled 2021 auction and a 2025 bust, industry interest is finally being tested again.
by Cale Green4mo ago4 min read
Cordova Wireless challenges FCC broadband maps, says waterways and islands missing
Cordova Wireless Communications filed formal objections with the Federal Communications Commission on May 22, 2026, documenting that federal broadband funding maps exclude coastal waterways and remote islands where Alaskans fish, hunt, and travel.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago2 min readGCI to end landline long-distance service in six Southeast communities
GCI Communication Corp. filed with the Federal Communications Commission to discontinue landline long-distance service in six Southeast Alaska communities—Gustavus, Hoonah, Kake, Klawock, Metlakatla, and Tenakee Springs—on or after August 1, 2026, citing rising costs for underlying facilities.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago1 min readBLM Alaska to repatriate Native remains and cultural items under three federal notices
BLM Alaska published three Federal Register notices announcing the repatriation of Native American human remains and cultural items to affiliated tribes, with returns permitted on or after June 29, 2026.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
UAF glaciology program returns to McCarthy for eighth summer
University of Alaska Fairbanks will run an 11-day graduate glaciology program in McCarthy starting June 1, 2026, supported by a National Science Foundation grant.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Alaska summer outlook leans warmer, but not as a simple El Niño story
Federal forecasters favor warmer-than-normal temperatures for most of Alaska this summer, but the El Niño outlook does not support claims of extreme heat or statewide drought.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
House panel approves $580 billion transportation bill with rail safety provisions
House committee approves major surface transportation bill with rail safety provisions
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago2 min read
Dunleavy declares disaster for Interior spring flooding
Governor Mike Dunleavy declared a state disaster Monday for spring breakup flooding affecting Interior communities including Kycook, activating assistance programs with registration open through July 11.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
UAF scientist leads $36K Antarctic sea ice study amid record lows
The National Science Foundation awarded UAF $36,000 for a collaborative study of rapid Antarctic sea ice decline in the Ross Sea, led by sea ice geophysicist Andrew R. Mahoney.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Petersburg sewer rates to rise 20% as EPA bans mixing zone
The Petersburg Borough Assembly approved a 20% sewer rate increase for fiscal year 2027 on Monday, May 18, 2026, to fund aging infrastructure repairs and new EPA-mandated wastewater treatment requirements.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago1 min read
Hopson 1 crew strikes Utqiaġvik's first whale of spring season
The Hopson 1 whaling crew struck Utqiaġvik's first bowhead whale of the 2026 spring season Saturday after a late start to the season.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
UAF scientist gets $300K to unlock permafrost's carbon time bomb
UAF microbiologist Mario E. Muscarella received a $299,972 NSF grant to develop molecular tools identifying which dormant microorganisms activate when permafrost thaws, critical knowledge as Alaska's frozen soils hold twice the carbon of Earth's atmosphere.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Alaska seeks federal approval to regulate carbon storage wells
The Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission is preparing to submit its primacy application to the EPA by the end of May 2026, seeking authority to permit and regulate Class VI carbon storage wells in Alaska.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Cordova council weighs hazard plan tied to federal disaster funds
Cordova City Council considered the city's Local Hazard Mitigation Plan on May 20, 2026, a FEMA-required document that determines eligibility for federal disaster resilience and mitigation grants in the Gulf of Alaska community.
by Alaska News4mo ago1 min read
Anchorage health facility secures federal approval for land transfer to expand services
The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs unanimously approved eight bills Wednesday benefiting tribes in Massachusetts, Washington, Alaska, and California, even as members sharply criticized the administration's proposed budget cuts to tribal programs.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
IHS proposes $93M sanitation cut as Alaska Native villages face sanitation gaps
The Indian Health Service proposed cutting sanitation facilities construction funding by $93 million below fiscal year 2026 levels Wednesday, citing a need to prioritize direct patient care over infrastructure, while over 2,000 water and sanitation projects remain unfunded across Indian Country.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago3 min read
VA budget seeks $488 billion with 60,000 Alaska veterans facing shift toward private care
The VA's fiscal 2027 budget requests $17 billion more for community care in 2028 while holding direct-care spending nearly flat, prompting senators to question whether the department is abandoning its own hospitals.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago3 min read
Alaska Senate backs Kipnuk, Kwigillingok relocation after Typhoon Halong
The Alaska Senate unanimously passed a resolution Wednesday backing the decisions of Kipnuk and Kwigillingok to relocate after devastation from Typhoon Halong.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Petersburg anglers now required to carry rockfish release devices
Alaska Department of Fish and Game now requires all vessels sport fishing in Petersburg marine waters to carry and use rockfish release devices when releasing rockfish, a new mandate that applies to all marine fishing activity regardless of target species.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago4 min readAspect Holdings addresses $100B Alaska projection, contested Teshekpuk lease
Aspect Holdings won eight lease blocks covering 110,000 acres in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska and projects $100 billion in present-value revenue wealth to the state from North Slope development.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
House Republicans examine $24.8M in federal attorney fees to environmental groups
A House subcommittee heard testimony Wednesday on how environmental nonprofits receive millions in taxpayer-funded legal fee awards, with some groups deriving 40% of their funding from litigation settlements.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago4 min read
FBI steps up Alaska security task force, adds agents to state
Murkowski questioned federal law enforcement officials about missing Indigenous people, northern-border drug trafficking and Alaska detention capacity.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Begich cites $163M Alaska oil lease sale as proof federal certainty drives investment
U.S. Representative Nick Begich highlighted a National Petroleum Reserve Alaska lease sale that generated over $163 million Thursday, framing it as evidence that federal policy certainty attracts energy investment and connecting Alaska production to national security.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read