News

All news stories, regardless of topic (local, statewide + national news stories, as well as Talk of Alaska, Alaska News Nightly, Alaska Insight, Alaska Economic Report). Some news stories may also have other categories marked, which will also put them on a subpage. Not all news stories will fall into a subpage.

a woman in a face mask

State Sen. Gray-Jackson becomes first Democrat in US Senate race

The Anchorage legislator says she would work to support access to abortion rights, voting and health care.
A woman smiling at the camera

Fairbanks jury finds Downs guilty in Sergie’s 1993 murder, sexual assault at UAF dorm

Steven Downs was an 18-year-old first-year student at University of Alaska Fairbanks in 1993, and presumably had no connection to the victim, Sophie Sergie, who was from the village of Pitka's Point.
An L shaped entrance to a building with snow

Ombudsman finds persistent problems at the Alaska Psychiatric Institute

The state’s only public psychiatric hospital failed to meet federal requirements for evaluating patients, didn’t provide adequate treatment and failed to investigate complaints about workplace harassment in 2020, according to a report released this week.
the edge of a glacier meeting a glacial lake

Glaciers are shrinking fast. Scientists are rushing to figure out how fast.

New research suggests that the world's glaciers are disappearing more quickly than scientists previously estimated.
A person standing on sea ice in front of an icebreaker

Nation’s sole heavy icebreaker returns to Antarctica to resupply American scientists

Each year, the crew maneuvers the nearly 400-foot, 13,000-ton icebreaker to cut a channel to McMurdo Station, the U.S. Antarctic Program’s logistics hub.
A man stands at a lectern at the front of a courtroom as people around him applaud

Alaska Chief Justice Winfree speaks to Legislature about the importance of protecting democracy

It was the 50th anniversary of the first time a chief justice addressed a joint session of the Alaska Legislature.
woman stands at podium that says "violence against women Act" other women behind her.

Senators offer bill to renew Violence Against Women Act, with a section honoring an Alaska murder victim

Angelina Jolie lent her star power to a bill in the U.S. Senate to renew the Violence Against Women Act.
A glass vial with a clear liquid sitting on top of a cardboard box that says etesevimab injection

Alaska sees decline in COVID cases, more treatment options available

Previously, certain oral antiviral and monoclonal antibody treatments were only recommended for those who were immunocompromised, pregnant, or 65 and older with risk factors.
A white wowman speaks at a podium

Sarah Palin takes witness stand in libel case vs. New York Times

Palin testified for only about 20 minutes at the end of the day at a civil trial in Manhattan federal court after a Times editor named as a defendant in the suit testified at length.
sled dog race starting line

Iditarod loses support of Anchorage hotel that served as race headquarters

The Lakefront Anchorage Hotel will still be race headquarters for this year’s race and then step away.
The front entrance of a high school

Ketchikan’s school district is investigating allegations of racism at a basketball game against Alaska’s only Native reservation

Some Ketchikan High School students dressed up as cowboys during a basketball game against its rivals from Alaska’s only Native reservation. The Ketchikan school district is investigating.
A large moose on a mushing trail standing over dogs that cannot move because they're still in harness

Moose attacks mushers’ team during a training run near Fairbanks, injuring 4 dogs

Bridgett Watkins' injured dogs are on the mend, and she’s back training with the others.

Why NASA’s new space telescope is pointed at the Big Dipper

Hint: It has to do with calibrating the telescope's ultrasensitive mirrors.
A bald eagle perched on one of the cranes that lowers a zodiac raft from the side of a ship

Coast Guard cutter returns to California after a nearly 80-day patrol in the Bering Sea

During the Waesche’s most recent patrol, it enforced fishing regulations among Bering Sea fleets and monitored the U.S.-Russian Maritime Boundary Line.
A yellow school bus parked with its door open

Training requirements for new commercial drivers in Alaska got tougher this week

The new regulations call for more thorough instruction for anyone seeking a new class B license or higher.
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Eielson pilot helps Air Force test bladder relief device for women

“This is really about the health and safety of the aircrew," she said. "So they can focus on the thing they need to focus on — which is the mission.”
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Watch: Alaska ranked choice voting, explained

Alaskans will have a new way to vote in state elections starting in 2022. Here's how it will work.
mailboxes under snow at night

US House passes bill, co-sponsored by Alaska delegation, to fix financial woes of Postal Service

Rep. Don Young was overjoyed to see the bill pass, and it's chances are good in the Senate.
a person poses in front of a building and truck

The COVID-19 pandemic is leaving more children in Alaska’s foster care system without a stable home

While advocates are pushing hard to recruit new foster families, some say the problems at the state Office of Children’s Services are longstanding and extend into issues with staffing and support.