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.”

Tara Sweeney does not plan to sue to fill vacancy on US House ballot

“We made the decision that this is not a candidate fight,” Sweeney campaign manager Karina Waller said in an interview.
ballots go into a scanner

In Alaska’s first statewide by-mail vote, turnout was highest for a primary since 2014

Final preliminary results posted Tuesday night by the Alaska Division of Elections show 161,614 people voted in the special election for U.S. House, Alaska’s first statewide election by mail.
railroad tracks through trees

Federal infrastructure dollars will fund an Alaska railroad bridge replacement, with more to come

A $3.1 million grant to help fund a railroad bridge replacement is the start of a "once in a generation" opportunity for infrastructure improvements in Alaska.
A fire crew moves brush away from a firebreak

With hot, dry weather expected, Alaska boosts firefighting resources

Alaska is now on “Preparedness Level 4," the second-highest level based on current fires and fire potential.
A girl in a pink shirt and mask gets a shot

Alaskans under age 5 can now get COVID vaccines

In Anchorage, vaccines are available at Fairweather’s Tikahtnu Commons clinic and a pop-up clinic in Fairview every day for the rest of the month.
A glass of water on a window sill

Sitka’s drinking water places second at national taste championship

Sitka qualified for the national competition after winning Alaska’s title.
La Quen Náay Liz Medicine Crow sits at a table, speaking into a microphone

President of First Alaskans Institute testifies at committee hearing on federal boarding schools

La Quen Náay Liz Medicine Crow pointed to the history of Alaska Native youth being sent out of state to boarding schools and to punitive asylums in the Lower 48. 
A map of a proposed hydro project

Hydroelectric project takes small step forward amid pushback from Moose Pass residents

Homer Electric Association has been working on the project for over a decade.
Skiffs pulled up on a riverbank

Chum salmon counts are lower than ever in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta

Fish and Game says chinook counts are well below average too.
the capitol building with a blue sky

The Senate gun bill would close the ‘boyfriend loophole.’ Here’s what that means.

Federal law prevents some convicted domestic abusers from owning a gun, depending on their relationship to the victim. The new gun safety bill would expand that definition to include dating partners.
a ship near the mountains

In victory for commercial fishermen, court orders Cook Inlet fishery to reopen

Judge Joshua Kindred said the federal closure was arbitrary and capricious and that the closure did not comply with national standards.
a group of firefighers in smokey woods

Firefighters work to contain 13-acre Anchorage wildfire as roads reopen

The fire was 30% contained by 8 p.m.
An Alaska Native woman with gray hair and pearl earring

Lawsuit filed to keep congressional candidate Tara Sweeney in special election

The plaintiffs are Sunny Guerin, Vera Lincoln and Elizabeth Toovak. 
a person purchasing guns and a dog inside a glass counter at a gun store

Alaska U.S. Sen. Murkowski votes to advance bipartisan gun safety act

Murkowski called the bill responsible and says she doesn’t think it infringes on Second Amendment rights.

Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, ending right to abortion upheld for decades

The U.S. Supreme Court has overturned the constitutional right to an abortion, reversing Roe v. Wade, the court's five-decade-old decision that guaranteed a woman's right to obtain an abortion.
a whale and a baby whale swim near ice

Pollutants from far distances found in Bering Sea animals hunted by Indigenous people

The study, published in the journal Environmental Science and Pollution Research, focuses on marine mammals and reindeer harvested by the Yup’ik residents of St. Lawrence Island, at the southern end of the Bering Strait.
A man in sunglasses plays frisbee in a grass field.

This month is on track to be the warmest June on record in Anchorage

“It’s certainly one for the record books," said National Weather Service climatologist Brian Brettschneider.
a group of people hold signs that say "Overturn Roe? Hell no!"

Legal battles likely as divided states grapple with abortion

About half of U.S. states are expected to outlaw most abortions due to Roe falling, according to the abortion-rights think tank Guttmacher Institute.
Three people sitting at a table

Anchorage HR director’s ‘I’m with Judy’ t-shirt part of wrongful termination suit

Former Office of Equal Opportunity Director Heather MacAlpine was fired while investigating complaints about the city’s top librarian, Judy Eledge, who has gotten public support from the mayor and chief human resources officer.
A woman performs a break dancing move

Will this Alaskan be the first U.S. Olympic breakdancer in 2024? | INDIE ALASKA

Bri “Snap1” Pritchard is a b-girl from Anchorage who has competed and won breaking competitions across the country. She may be one of the first Olympic breakdancers.