Top Stories

News stories, radio and TV episodes that warrant one of six spots on our homepage. The homepage is in chronological order of publication date, so stories are moved off the homepage as more are categorized “top stories.”

A woman receives a nasal swab Covid test outside of the Denali Federal Credit Union Operations Center.

‘A steep downward trajectory’: Alaska sees 50% drop in reported COVID cases this week

Alaska’s downward trend follows other states' declines in case counts.
People look at maps hanging on a wall.

Judge rules that redrawn Senate districts for East Anchorage and Eagle River violate the Alaska Constitution

The judge also found that the Alaska Redistricting Board violated the state constitution for how it drew the Southeast Alaska House district that includes Skagway.
A group of women singing in the dark in a Juneau park

Juneau community mourns missing and murdered Indigenous people: ‘One of our strengths is our voices’

About 30 people gathered on Monday night to share their stories and sing to their missing loved ones. 
The blocky heads of two right whales poking out of the water on the open seas

Fisherman’s photos could be first visual evidence of North Pacific right whales in the Bering Sea in winter

Right whales are among the rarest of all marine mammal species and have never been documented in the Bering Sea in winter months.

‘Black in Alaska’ profiles lives and successes of Black Alaskans

The team behind the project hopes to profile people from different communities, age groups and careers to increase understanding about the experiences of Black people in Alaska.
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If you’re finding this stage of the pandemic especially confusing, you’re not alone

Part of the problem is the conflicting, ever-changing advice people are hearing from different political leaders.
A woman in sunglasses speaks at a microphone

Sarah Palin loses defamation case against ‘The New York Times’

It was a one-two punch for Sarah Palin: The verdict came a day after the presiding judge said he would dismiss the case because Palin's lawyers failed to meet the legal standard of actual malice.

Alaska love shines through in champion skier Kikkan Randall’s Olympic commentary

One of Alaska's most beloved athletes, Olympic champion cross-country skier Kikkan Randall, is participating in this year's Winter Olympics, not as a competitor, but as a commentator for NBC, covering the Beijing games from NBC's studios in Connecticut.
sign in front of building that says: anchorage police department

Years after Anchorage police fatally shoot Black man, dashcam video prompts new questions

The fatal Anchorage police shooting of 31-year-old Somali American Bishar Hassan in 2019 is under renewed scrutiny after the public release of police dashcam footage by a lawyer representing the man’s family in a wrongful death lawsuit.

VAWA bill in Senate would expand power of up to 30 Alaska tribal courts

Tribes in the pilot program would be able to try and sentence anyone who commits domestic violence, rape or related crimes in their villages, even if the offender is non-Native.
A view of rocky islands from the deck of a fishing boat

While Chignik fishermen wait on 2018 relief funds, some look beyond the fishery to survive

Chignik fishermen are finally expecting federal relief funds to start coming in. But that assistance may be too late.
Alaska Supreme Court Justice Craig Stowers asks a question about language on an election ballot during oral argument in an election recount case in Anchorage on Jan. 4, 2019.

Colleagues remember former Alaska Chief Justice Stowers for his dedication to law, courts

Stowers was chief justice from 2015 to 2018. He was a Superior Court judge for five years before becoming a justice.
water levels at a canyon

Study finds Western megadrought is the worst in 1,200 years

In tree ring records dating back to AD 800, the only multidecade drought that came close to today's was in the 1500s. Researchers say climate change is a factor and the U.S. must plan for less water.
A woman in pearls speaks on a podium in front of a yellow campaign sign

Les Gara picks teacher Jessica Cook as running mate in Alaska governor’s race

Jessica Cook teaches 6th Grade at Alpenglow Elementary School in Eagle River.
Two women working with bone fragments inside

Mercury levels in Stellar sea lion pups are rising. Researchers look to the past to find out why.

A new research project is building a timeline of mercury levels in the Aleutian Islands over the last few thousand years.
A woman in a red jacket speaks into a microphone

Judge to dismiss Sarah Palin’s defamation suit against ‘New York Times’

A federal judge will dismiss Sarah Palin's defamation lawsuit against The New York Times even as the jury continues to deliberate.
A portrait of a man standing outside in a parka

Bethel-raised Yup’ik artist Qacung Blanchett receives two big national awards

Bethel-raised musician and Pamyua frontman Stephen Qacung Blanchett has been creating music for almost three decades, but 2022 may be his biggest year yet.
A close up of a red KN95 mask on a person's face

Coronavirus FAQ: What’s the best way to protect school-age kids from COVID?

Even as case rates are plunging in some areas, multi-layered strategies are still necessary.
People look at maps hanging on a wall.

Fate of Alaska’s new legislative map hangs in the balance as parties close arguments

Much of Friday was taken up by whether the board treated residents of Valdez and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough fairly when it put them in the same district.