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 fighter jet refues under a larger plane in blue skies

Uptick in Russian aircraft flying near Alaska shows ‘probing’ for weakness, Sullivan says

U.S. jet fighters have scrambled at least a dozen times so far this year to intercept Russian military aircraft that fly into airspace off Alaska’s coasts.
A woman speaking at a podium

Alaska Senator Murkowski said Friday she would not vote for a justice ahead of Inauguration Day

Shortly before the announcement that Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had died Friday, Sen. Lisa Murkowski said in an interview that if she...
A woman speaks to someone in a wheelchair. On the back of the wheelchair is a sign that reads, "I'll take dangerous freedom over peaceful tyranny!"

Facebook group for those with grievances against Anchorage’s mayor and Assembly grows

Over the last few months, a Facebook group called “Save Anchorage” has become an organizing place for people with grievances against the Berkowitz administration and the city’s largely progressive assembly. It began with neighbors who objected to the city’s plan to purchase properties to house the homeless and provide substance treatment and grew to include people against public health measures like mandatory masking and business closures.
A woman in a white suit holds a blue surgical mask.

Why does Alaska have the country’s lowest COVID-19 death rate? Doctors explain.

Doctors say early, aggressive restrictions have helped keep the number of deaths in Alaska tied to COVID-19 low. But, they caution, the numbers can change quickly and it is not time to let your guard down.

Pebble execs tell ‘investors’ Murkowski and Sullivan are no barrier to controversial mine

In secretly recorded calls, the CEO of Pebble Partnership told men posing as investors that Alaska's senators' public doubts about the project weren't genuine.
Two blue bladders coming out of tubes

Unalaska PA’s ingenuity doubles available ventilators for COVID-19 pandemic

As the coronavirus pandemic hit Alaska, physician's assistant from the fishing community of Unalaska did what she could to make sure her community was prepared.

Alaska’s pro-oil Republican governor is quietly pushing green energy projects too

Even as climate change threatens to impose steep costs in Alaska, Dunleavy is still promoting the state's oil industry. But he says he's excited by the plummeting cost of renewable power sources, and their potential to bring down electricity prices and recruit more business to the state.
A glacier seen from the air with large bowed striations coing out iniot ht ebay

Could the melting Malaspina Glacier create a new bay on Alaska’s southern coast?

What’s happening at the Malaspina Glacier may be the largest landscape transformation underway in the United States, according to researchers.
screen shot of the cover slide for the tapes with an image of water and land from the air

In secret recordings, Pebble Mine execs say Donlin mine is too expensive to build

On September 21, an environmental group leaked footage of top mining executives discussing the proposed Donlin Gold mine. ( Environmental Investigation Agency) On Sept. 21, an...
A woman speaking at a podium

Alaska’s Sen. Murkowski says she can’t rule out voting for Trump’s Supreme Court pick

Sen. Murkowski said Tuesday she could not rule out that she would vote to confirm a Trump nominee if the Judiciary Committee approves of one before the November election.

Investigator blames haste, lack of supervision for alleged Dunleavy ethics violations

Under the settlement, Dunleavy personally paid $2,800 to reimburse the state for social media and mailed advertisements from his office that praised his allies in the Legislature -- and which the investigator, Fairbanks attorney John Tiemessen, said broke a law against spending state money for partisan political purposes.
A face shot of an Alaska Native woman wiith black small plastic glasses. She is smiling slightly.

Missing Nome woman is “loving” and “stubborn,” friends say

Friends and family describe "Flo" as kind and sophisticated, but her upbringing was marred by family tragedy.
A white, fluffy headed alpaca looks directly into the camera.

Wild brown bear killed after fatal attack on Alaska Zoo’s alpaca, Caesar

A brown bear in Anchorage has been killed after breaking into the Alaska Zoo and killing an alpaca, according to a statement from the zoo.
A silver sign that says "The Pebble Partnership"

Pebble CEO Tom Collier resigns

The news comes following the release of recordings with an "investor" in which CEO Tom Collier appeared to contradict the company's public statements and downplayed Alaska's senators' doubts about the project.
a person wearing a mask teaching students

‘It has exceeded my expectations’: Here’s what in-person school looks like in Mat-Su

By-and-large, students, teachers and administrators are happy to be back in schools, even if it means wearing uncomfortable masks.

LISTEN: The fallout from Pebble recordings continues

Pebble Mine opponents say CEO's resignation is just scapegoating. Gov. Dunleavy denies he served as Pebble's messenger to the White House, and Sen. Murkowski is furious.
A pink blocky, two story building next to a sprucy hillside

Ketchikan assembly passes pro-police resolution seen as ‘backlash’ to LGBTQ rights measure

The mayor cross-examined public testifiers in the unusual hearing on the resolution at the Ketchikan Borough Assembly.
hand sanitizer in a classroom window and people behind the window

Many Anchorage teachers say they don’t want to return to classrooms

Overwhelmingly, public testimony during the meeting came from district teachers who expressed concerns about social distancing, cleaning supplies, and class sizes.

Kenai Peninsula schools face substitute teacher shortage

The school district voted to raise substitute teacher pay in response to the shortage.
A blue, three story building next to other buildings, with cars parked beneath

Juneau homeless shelter closes after positive cases

Two people tested positive for COVID-19 and 7 others are in quarantine.