National

A federal judge has ordered representatives of Greenpeace USA to stay a kilometer away from Shell Oil’s drilling vessels destined for Arctic Ocean waters off Alaska’s northern shores.

The man listed by Anchorage police as a “person of interest” in the abduction of 18-year-old Anchorage barista Samantha Koenig has been arraigned in federal court in Anchorage on a fraud charge.

The House Finance Committee has advanced a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow public money to be used for private schools.

The federal government is considering closing three courthouses in Alaska. According to documents obtained by the Associated Press, courthouses in Juneau, Ketchikan and Fairbanks could be shut down as part of an effort to cut costs. If all three did close, the only active federal courthouse in Alaska would be in Anchorage. Senator Lisa Murkowski responded to the news in a statement, saying, “it’s penny-wise, pound-foolish to remove three out of our four active courthouses and ask all Alaskans to travel to Anchorage for legal proceedings.”

An environmental group has given notice it intends to sue the federal government for failing to prepare a recovery plan for highly endangered North Pacific right whales.

Final results are in from the Alaska GOP’s presidential preference poll: Mitt Romney remains the winner, narrowly defeating Rick Santorum, and Santorum picked up enough votes to earn another delegate.

A former executive of EyakTek, a subsidiary of the Alaska Native Eyak Corporation is admitting his role in a $20 million government contracting fraud scheme.

A Fort Wainwright-based soldier has admitted to taking thousands of dollars in gifts, cash and favors from an Iraqi contractor.

The Alaska Volcano Observatory has lowered the alert level for a volcano in the remote Aleutian Islands. Scientists on Friday said in a release that the level of unrest has subsided at Kanaga Volcano, prompting the alert reduction.

Tuesday at 9:00 am - it's an NPR News special - live coverage of President Obama's news conference. The White House event occurs as Mr. Obama's Republican rivals face off in 10 Super Tuesday primary contests. It also follows the president's Monday meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Join Jennifer Ludden for in-depth coverage and analysis. If the news conference goes past 10:00 am, KSKA will join Talk of Alaska in progress. Here and Now will return Weds. at 9:00 am.

All Things Considered Sept. 29, 2011 In Alaska's picturesque Bristol Bay region, developers are looking to build an enormous copper and gold mine. They promise the effort will be carried out in an environmentally responsible way — and provide area jobs. But fisherman, conservationists and native groups have joined efforts to thwart the mine, fearing it will pollute fish and wildlife. Melissa Block talks about the battle for Bristol Bay with reporter Daysha Eaton of member station KDLG in Dillingham, Alaska. Listen for Full Story on NPR.org

The temblor, centered about 100 miles southwest of Washington, D.C., shook buildings and rattled nerves up and down the East Coast. Phone services and airports were affected, but early reports indicated damage was minimal.

The orange goo that took over the shore of a remote Alaskan village is actually a mass of fungal spores — not microscopic eggs, as scientists at the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration first believed. The spores are from a rust fungus, experts say.

For centuries, the ice-choked Northwest Passage has been prized as a potential trade route. Now, rising Arctic temperatures mean the waterway is expected to open up for longer periods — a boon for shipping companies seeking a shortened trade route and for nations vying for untapped natural resources.

Monday, August 8 @ 9:00 - 11:00 am Listen as President Obama speaks about the economic situation, and as financial experts talk to NPR about the debt, the nation's credit rating and long-term outlook.

With the debt-ceiling legislation signed into law Tuesday afternoon, the nation no longer needs to worry about defaultmageddon, at least not until early 2013. That's when the U.S. Treasury once again runs out of room to borrow again. Even though there wasn't a default this time, the partisan fight left plenty of wreckage lying about.

The rating agency said the debt ceiling agreement is a step in the right direction for the country and said the chances of a default on its debt remain "extremely low."