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 shopper in a mask walks by a store

Who wins and who loses when the Fed hikes interest rates?

Another month, another Federal Reserve interest rate hike.
a man in a suit

Special election results prompt losing candidates to consider dropping out of regular US House election, too

Finishers outside the top four in the special primary are pondering dropping out of the regular election.
An older woman and three teenagers hold a baby

Southwest Alaska fire evacuees start returning home, but changing climate presents lingering risks

People who evacuated are returning to a home that’s seeing ever-increasing effects of climate change.
a person break dances

Alaska’s only b-girl claims her spot on the world stage

Bri Pritchard, also known as Snap1, started breaking when she was 17. She’s 30 now and an Olympic hopeful.
a woman sits on a bench outside

Peltola keeps 4th place in latest US House ballot count

The AP has now called the race for Democrat Mary Peltola, too.
A fire as seen from the air

Rainy weather tamps down fires near St. Mary’s for now as officials warn of flammable conditions in Interior

Residents of St. Mary’s on the Yukon River were told they no longer need to be packed up to leave, though smoke is still lingering.
A sky over tundra

Officials say they’ve finished work on massive tundra fire near Yukon River that threatened St. Mary’s

All of the more than 150 evacuees have returned to their home villages, according to the fire service.
a child gets a shot

CDC clears the way for vaccinations for children 6 months to 5 years old

CDC advisers are recommending the use of two separate COVID-19 vaccines for the youngest children made by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, paving the way for vaccine rollout as early as next week.
soccer players on a field

Mat-Su schools’ ban on transgender girl athletes raises concern for ACLU, may violate federal law

Attempting to ban transgender girls from playing on girls’ teams constitutes illegal discrimination under the federal law known as Title IX, according to the ACLU of Alaska.
people in a boat pull up a net

Management council declines action on Bering Sea bycatch to address Yukon-Kuskokwim salmon subsistence worries

The vast majority of callers at the North Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting last week called for a reduction in bycatch limits, which they said would help reverse a dramatic trend of salmon declines on the Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers.
a person standing behind a podium

Gross, a top four candidate for US House, calls it quits

Al Gross is out, possibly allowing Tara Sweeney to advance in the special election.
smoke over tundra

Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta wildfires, part of a new pattern, push Alaska to early season milestone

This year’s fires are the product of a combination of long-term climate change and short-term ignition forces.
A white man with a beard and a suit

Anchorage mayor appoints staunch conservative after municipal attorney resigns

Patrick Bergt resigned as city attorney after less than a year on the job.
a woman in a green jacket

As last ballots arrive in Alaska’s special US House primary, Peltola inches upward

Peltola is up three percentage points since the first count June 11, suggesting her campaign may have picked up momentum as the postmark deadline neared, or that her supporters were, for whatever reason, late to the mailbox.
A rally with a banner that says "Don't look away" and the U.S. Capitol behind it

Senators reach final bipartisan agreement on a gun safety bill

The bill would incentivize states to pass red flag laws and expand background checks for 18- to 21-year-olds, among other measures. It's expected to have enough support to pass the Senate.

As drive-through testing sites close, Alaska begins ‘privatizing COVID’

Most drive-up COVID testing sites in Anchorage are set to close by June 30 as demand drops and funding runs out. The few sites that will stay open aren’t offering testing to uninsured Alaskans.