Liz Ruskin, Alaska Public Media
Liz Ruskin is the Washington, D.C., correspondent at Alaska Public Media. Reach her at lruskin@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Liz here.
Alaska Delegation Review 113th Congress
The U.S. House and Senate are on recess now. When lawmakers return it’ll be after the November election for a lame duck session that will end the 113th Congress.
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Alaska Delegation Divided on Arming Syrian Rebels to fight ISIL
Congress today approved President Obama's request to arm and train Syrian rebels to fight the terrorist group known as ISIL, but no one in the Alaska delegation was happy about it.
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Sullivan Supports State Minimum Wage Boost He Once Opposed
In a reversal, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dan Sullivan says he supports a ballot measure that would increase the state minimum wage.
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Outside Money Favors Begich, But He Assails It
The U.S. Senate this week blocked a constitutional amendment aimed at reversing Citizens United, the Supreme Court decision allowing corporations, unions and associations to spend unlimited amounts on elections. Sen. Mark Begich, who has railed against outside spending in the race, voted for the amendment, although so far the outside spending has tilted heavily in his favor.
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Alaska Delegation Critical Of President’s ISIS Plan
President Obama outlined a plan Wednesday to defeat the terror group known as the Islamic State, or ISIS. He is calling for airstrikes, as well as for the U.S. to support the Iraqi military and Syrian fighters attacking ISIS on the ground.
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Russia Builds Military Bases in Arctic
Russian news outlets report ships have unloaded pre-fabricated buildings to create military installations on Russia’s Wrangel Island and Cape Schmidt. Both are about 300 miles from Alaska’s Point Hope.
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Bill Aims To Create Arctic Port on Bering Sea Coast
A U.S. House subcommittee today considered a bill aimed at creating a deepwater dock at Point Spencer, a narrow curlicue of land on the Bering Strait, just south of the Arctic Circle. Alaska Congressman Don Young says his bill would divide the 2,000 acre spit among the Coast Guard, the state and the Bering Strait Native Corp., creating a partnership to build a port.
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U.S. House Passes Bill to Allow Sale of Feathery Art
The U.S. House today passed a bill to allow Alaska Natives to sell handicrafts that include the feathers of migratory birds. Alaska Congressman Don Young, who sponsored the bill, says it will end a "bizarre policy" that allows Native people to hunt the birds and make handicrafts from feathers but not sell their creations.
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Support Alliance Endorses Sullivan for Senate
U.S. Senate challenger Dan Sullivan has won a rare endorsement from the Alaska Support Industry Alliance. Sen. Mark Begich nets the purse seiners.
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Dems Ask Maryland to Investigate Sullivan Tax Breaks
Maryland tax authorities said this week they’ll investigate whether Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dan Sullivan improperly benefited from tax breaks intended for Maryland residents for a house he owned in the suburbs of Washington, D.C.
As it turns out, Sullivan’s history of voting in Alaska elections may cost him.
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Politifact Rates Begich Ad “Pants on Fire”
The fallout continues after U.S. Sen. Mark Begich aired a campaign ad blaming his opponent for a sentencing error that freed a sex offender now charged in a double homicide.
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Begich Campaigns Removes Controversial ‘Crime Scene’ Ad
The campaign of Sen. Mark Begich has taken down a controversial TV ad entitled “crime scene” that began airing Friday. The ad featured a retired Anchorage police officer who says Republican Senate candidate Dan Sullivan let sex offenders off with light sentences.
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Ad Alleges Begich Shortchanges His Female Staff – Is It True?
An ad running against Sen. Mark Begich attacks him on his support for women – exactly where he proclaims his strength. The ad, by Crossroads GPS, says he favors men when it comes to setting salaries for his Senate staff.
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AFP Targets Begich Absenteeism in $1M Ad Buy
The ad says Begich missed more votes last year than 80 percent of his colleagues. Still, his 2013 attendance record was the best of the Alaska delegation.
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Begich Says ‘Bring it on’
Now that former DNR Commissioner Dan Sullivan has won the Republican Primary, U.S. Sen. Mark Begich is staking out his positions, emphasizing his record and his support of abortion rights.
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Sullivan Wins, Snubs Election Central Celebration; Treadwell Concedes
Dan Sullivan took 40 percent of the vote, handily beating Joe Miller and Mead Treadwell to win the Republican Primary for U.S. Senate. Sullivan, though, wouldn’t talk to reporters and didn’t come to Election Central at the Egan Convention Center, as winning candidates usually do.
Endorsements Fly in GOP Senate Race
The Primary Election is tomorrow, and the Republican candidates for U.S. Senate are scrambling for high-profile endorsements. Mead Treadwell announced today he has astronaut Buzz Aldrin. Joe Miller boasts Fox TV host Mike Huckabee, and – just today -- Focus on the Family Founder James Dobson. Dan Sullivan landed board members of Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, Club for Growth and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
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Sec. Moniz: We Won’t Be Obstacle to Alaska Gas Exports
Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz is in Alaska this week. He says the Obama Administration wants to spur a project to export North Slope natural gas, and he says the No. 1 way his department can help is by staying out of the way.
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Rep. Young Introduces Fiancee to Church Crowd
Alaska Congressman Don Young introduces girlfriend, Anne Garland Walton of Fairbanks, as his fiancée.
Joe Miller Agrees To Support GOP Rivals If They Win Primary
Miller had previously refused to say whether he’d run as a write-in or on a third-party ticket if he loses the Republican Primary on Aug. 19. Now, Miller says he’ll back either Dan Sullivan or Mead Treadwell to help unseat the Democratic incumbent, Sen. Mark Begich.
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