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 confirms CDC director; Alaska's vaccine question stays open
The U.S. Senate confirmed Erica Schwartz of Florida as CDC director Wednesday on a 51-44 vote. Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan both voted yea, on the confirmation and on the cloture motion that preceded it.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Senate bill co-led by Murkowski targets AI chatbot toys' risks to children
A bipartisan Senate bill co-led by Sen. Lisa Murkowski would study the safety risks of AI chatbot toys for children, after testing found some discussing explicit content and household dangers.
by Alaska News1mo ago2 min readAI
Murkowski cosponsors Senate bill to pay providers for breast cancer risk assessments
Sen. Lisa Murkowski cosponsored S. 5258, introduced Wednesday by Sen. Bill Cassidy, which would create a federal payment model reimbursing providers for comprehensive breast cancer risk assessments and personalized screening plans. It sits in the Senate Committee on Finance with no hearing scheduled.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Anchorage ties its wettest July on record as Southcentral soaks
Anchorage tied its wettest July on record at 4.49 inches and Talkeetna saw its wettest since 1922, with much of Southcentral getting two to three times normal rainfall.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min readAI
Yentna flood warning runs to Friday after forecast crest above 22 feet
NWS Anchorage's flood warning for the Yentna River including Lake Creek runs until 1 p.m. Friday, and the warning says flooding is ongoing. The river passed flood stage Tuesday and was forecast to crest slightly above 22 feet early Wednesday, a window that has now passed.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min readAI
A rule meant to reveal where 'forever chemicals' are used stays delayed
The U.S. Senate rejected a motion to proceed to S.J.Res. 187 on a 48-50 vote Wednesday, leaving in place an EPA rule that pushes back when companies must report PFAS manufacturing and imports. Murkowski and Sullivan both voted nay.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
41.3 million for Alaska Native education is freed up after a month's delay
Fifteen Alaska organizations will share $41.3 million in Alaska Native Education Program continuation awards, spread across 26 grants. The U.S. Department of Education obligated the money Wednesday, about a month after the July 1 date it was expected, after Sen. Lisa Murkowski raised the delay with Secretary Linda McMahon.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Alaska Native-serving schools vie for $10 million in training money
Trade schools serving Alaska Native villages or organizations are eligible for a share of up to $10 million in SBA manufacturing training grants announced Wednesday. Proposals are due through Grants.gov by Aug. 24.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago1 min readAI
Can a bacterium pull rare earths out of coal waste? Alaska researchers just got $4.7M to find out
UAA and UAF received $4.7 million from the National Science Foundation to test whether a bacterium can extract rare earth elements from coal mining waste, a potential domestic supply source.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min readAI
Regulators shift unused halibut allowance to Bering Sea trawlers
NMFS reapportioned 100 metric tons of unused halibut bycatch allowance from the Pacific cod Trawl Cooperative Program to the trawl limited access catcher vessel C season, raising that sector's cap from 15 to 115 metric tons through Nov. 1, with no public comment.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago2 min readAI
A new Nome dredge application enters the pipeline that just rejected a fiercely fought gold mine
Alaska DNR has received a Multi-Agency Application for Permits to Mine in Alaska for suction dredging near Nome. The notice is a receipt, not an approval, and no comment-period outcome appears in the available documents.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Senate panel advances Crow coal land swap 6-5, rejects four amendments
The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, chaired by Sen. Lisa Murkowski, voted 6 to 5 Wednesday to advance the Crow Revenue Act, which exempts a Montana coal land exchange from environmental review. Four amendments requiring an appraisal, a named lessee and a locked revenue split failed 5 to 6.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Cook Inlet drift fleet limited to Area 3 for a single 12-hour opener Thursday
ADF&G is confining Upper Cook Inlet drift gillnetters to Area 3 for one 12-hour period Thursday, Aug. 6, after federal coho harvest in the Cook Inlet EEZ blew past both the total allowable catch and the acceptable biological catch.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Pacific halibut hit a 40-year low as Alaska absorbs the deepest cuts
Pacific halibut spawning biomass is near its lowest since the 1970s, and Alaska absorbed the sharpest 2025 catch cuts, including 22% in the Central Gulf, hitting commercial, charter and subsistence fishing.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
NWS forecast calls for 1 to 2 more inches of rain in Southwest Alaska
A Bering Sea storm is bringing prolonged rain to Southwest Alaska through Tuesday, with the heaviest expected Monday into Tuesday over the Alaska Peninsula and the Lake Iliamna region. Forecasters said coastal winds could push water up to a foot above mean high tide.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
A UAF mathematician is building better tools for understanding networks
The National Science Foundation has awarded $150,000 to the University of Alaska Fairbanks for a three-year project on group-labeled graphs led by Youngho Yoo, with graduate student training written into the grant.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago1 min readAI
A Hilcorp gravel-mine permit reflects the North Slope's expanding oil footprint
A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers public notice describes Hilcorp Alaska's proposal for a new North Slope gravel mine called Put 29 and a 1,000-foot access road off the road to Drillsite 15. Written comments are due Aug. 18.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Sitka Coast Guard dock switches from steel to plastic fender piles
NOAA Fisheries approved switching to plastic fender piles for the Coast Guard's new Sitka cutter dock, a change that shrinks marine mammal disturbance zones and speeds construction.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago2 min readAI
State weighs 19-year rent-free FAA lease at Hooper Bay Airport
Alaska DOT&PF is deciding whether to sign a 19-year, no-rent lease letting the FAA build and maintain navigation, communication and weather aids at Hooper Bay Airport. The public comment window closed Aug. 4.
by Alaska News1mo ago1 min readAI
Murkowski and Sullivan vote to advance an African trade bill
The U.S. Senate voted 89-4 Monday to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to H.R. 6500, which would extend duty-free treatment for imports from certain African countries and extend customs user fees. Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan both voted yea.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Betting apps take bets in Alaska as a Senate panel weighs the fallout
Prediction-market apps are taking sports bets in Alaska, where betting isn't legal, tribal leaders told a Senate roundtable. Sen. Murkowski admitted being 'asleep at the switch.'
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
EPA grants Alaska authority to permit hazardous waste facilities
The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation will take over permitting and enforcement for hazardous waste treatment, storage and disposal facilities statewide after EPA Region 10 Administrator Emma Pokon signed a final authorization July 31. EPA keeps authority in Indian country.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago4 min readAI
Eielson Air Force Base hiring fair set for Thursday
The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development is promoting a hiring fair at Eielson Air Force Base on Thursday, Aug. 6, the same day a federal laborer posting at the base with 12 vacancies closes.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Ambler advances, but the U.S. stake in its developer hasn't closed
Ambler Road permits are back in force and the project is advancing, but the U.S. government's planned stake in developer Trilogy Metals still hasn't closed.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
FAA retires two Alaska flight routes in a satellite-navigation shift
A final FAA rule effective 0901 UTC Oct. 29 revokes Alaska RNAV Routes J-804R and J-889R and extends Route Q-10 from Kukuliak to the EURKA waypoint at the Canadian border, part of the state's shift from ground-based navigation aids to satellite routing.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Bering Sea cod trawl fee drops to 2.09% after fishery value jumps
NMFS set the 2026 Pacific Cod Trawl Cooperative Program cost recovery fee at 2.09 percent, down from the 3 percent statutory maximum charged in 2025. Cooperatives that miss the Aug. 31 payment deadline lose quota transfer approval and next year's CQ permits.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
As Alaska's glaciers retreat, new carbon-storing bogs are forming behind them
The National Science Foundation awarded the University of Alaska Fairbanks $94,000 for InsPIRE, a three-year study of how carbon-storing peatlands form in landscapes exposed by retreating glaciers, with mapping products aimed at land managers and communities.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min readAI
Wind, high surf and rain batter four Y-K Delta villages into a second day
Kipnuk, Kwigillingok, Kongiganak and Quinhagak faced a second day of coastal advisories with high surf, strong winds and prolonged rain, as Kipnuk still rebuilds from Typhoon Halong.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Wind advisory remains in effect for Windy Pass with gusts to 65 mph
NWS Fairbanks has a Wind Advisory in effect for Windy Pass in the Northern Denali Borough until 4 a.m. Wednesday, with south winds of 30 to 45 mph and gusts to 65 mph. It follows a High Wind Warning issued Sunday forecasting gusts to 70 mph.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Juneau's casino opened on shifting ground and now faces suits on two fronts
Tlingit & Haida's Two Coppers Casino opened in Juneau through a 2024 federal opinion, since rescinded. It now faces a state suit, a George Family suit and legal uncertainty.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
As the world burns, Alaska stays cool — a regional weather quirk
Alaska is having one of its quietest, coolest summers as Spokane and Europe face record heat and fire — a regional weather quirk, even as the Arctic hits record-low sea ice.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Strong winds hit the Anchorage Hillside and Turnagain Arm, with outages possible
A wind advisory for Anchorage warns of gusts up to 60 mph on the Hillside and Seward Highway near Turnagain Arm through Tuesday morning, with possible power outages.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
A Juneau builder with a long wetlands-filling history moves to settle federal charges
The United States and the State of Alaska have lodged a proposed consent decree resolving Clean Water Act claims against Duran Construction Company LLC and two individual defendants. The Justice Department listed the public comment period as "To Be Scheduled" as of July 30, 2026, and the decree takes effect only if a federal judge enters it.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago2 min readAI
Seward faces heavy rain and flood risk again, weeks after July storm
The NWS issued a Flood Watch for Seward and the Southern Kenai Mountains, with 2 to 4 inches of rain expected Monday through Thursday and a risk of flooding and landslides.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Heavy rain now expected in the Mat-Su, with rivers set to crest Wednesday
Forecasters now expect 3 to 5 inches of rain in the Mat-Su and Susitna valleys through Wednesday, with rivers cresting midweek. A flood watch covers the region through Aug. 7.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Students get to fire the HAARP transmitter at UAF's summer school
A $199,999 NSF grant funds UAF's 2026 summer school at HAARP, where students design and run their own ionosphere experiments on the Gakona research array.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago1 min readAI
A $1.6 million grant to help Alaska burn on purpose, before wildfire does
A $1.6 million NSF grant to UAF would build a fire-weather forecasting tool suited to Alaska, helping managers plan the controlled burns that reduce wildfire risk.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago1 min readAI
As melting ice opens the Arctic to more ships, a UAA scientist studies how a spill would behave
A UAA researcher received a $364,999 NSF grant to study how sunlight degrades toxic oil-spill compounds in Arctic waters, as retreating sea ice raises shipping and spill risks.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago1 min readAI
Alaska's small planes get until 2034 to upgrade altimeters — if they fly Outside
A new FAA rule gives Alaska air taxis and small planes until 2034 to retrofit radio altimeters against 5G interference, but exempts aircraft flying only within Alaska.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago1 min readAI
The military is adding a thousand people to a base that's already full
JBER family housing is nearly full as the military plans to add about 1,050 personnel in Alaska. An Anchorage Assembly resolution weighs the added housing pressure.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI