News

Low fog lingers over Gastineau Channel in front of downtown Juneau on Tuesday. Rain is the forecasted through Friday.

Photo: Lingering fog

Low fog lingers over Gastineau Channel in front of downtown Juneau on Tuesday. Rain is the forecasted through Friday.… Continue reading

Low fog lingers over Gastineau Channel in front of downtown Juneau on Tuesday. Rain is the forecasted through Friday.

Photo: Frosted muskeg

Frost coats a leaf in a muskeg above Douglas Tuesday morning. Rain is forecasted for the rest of the week with colder temperatures coming next… Continue reading

US official: Congress shouldn’t control tribal recognition

BILLINGS, Mont. — A Republican proposal to let only Congress decide whether American Indian tribes deserve federal recognition threatens the legitimacy of hundreds of tribes… Continue reading

Marco Rubio, center, and Jeb Bush, left, argue a point as Donald Trump looks on during the CNBC Republican presidential debate at the University of Colorado, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2015, in Boulder, Colo. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Insurgents vs. mainstream

BOULDER, Colo. — Marco Rubio bid forcefully for control of the Republican Party’s establishment wing in Wednesday night’s third GOP debate, deflecting jabs from Jeb… Continue reading

Marco Rubio, center, and Jeb Bush, left, argue a point as Donald Trump looks on during the CNBC Republican presidential debate at the University of Colorado, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2015, in Boulder, Colo. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis. speaks to during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2015, after a Special GOP Leadership Election. Republicans in the House of Representatives have nominated Ryan to become the chamber's next speaker, hoping he can lead them out of weeks of disarray and point them toward accomplishments they can highlight in next year's elections. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Fresh starts as GOP taps new speaker, OKs budget deal

WASHINGTON — House Republicans embraced a new leader Wednesday and swiftly consented to a major budget-and-debt deal to avert a federal financial crisis, highlights of… Continue reading

Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis. speaks to during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2015, after a Special GOP Leadership Election. Republicans in the House of Representatives have nominated Ryan to become the chamber's next speaker, hoping he can lead them out of weeks of disarray and point them toward accomplishments they can highlight in next year's elections. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

‘Hard Rock Miners’ sculptor dies in Oregon

The sculptor behind Juneau’s iconic “Hard Rock Miners” sculpture has died.Edward Seth Way was curator of exhibits at the Alaska State Museum when he was… Continue reading

Preteens questioned as suspects in Alaska cemetery vandalism

ANCHORAGE — Authorities in a southeast Alaska town say preteen boys and girls have been questioned as suspects in a vandalism spree targeting a 200-year-old… Continue reading

Police blotter for Thursday, Oct. 29, 2015

This report contains information provided to the Empire from law enforcement agencies. This report includes arrest and citation information, not conviction information. Anyone listed in… Continue reading

Lawmaker wants to increase requirements for schools

ANCHORAGE — A state lawmaker is proposing an increase to the minimum number of students required to make schools eligible for state funding.KTUU-TV reported that… Continue reading

Around town for Thursday, Oct. 29

Juneau Gastineau Rotary Club meeting, 7 a.m., The Prospector Hotel.Open lab computer training, 9 a.m.-11 a.m, The Learning Connection, 210 Ferry Way.Storytime, 11 a.m., Douglas… Continue reading

Schools see sub shortage

It’s not the kind of absence often thought of when it comes to a school day, but hundreds of times a year it’s the teacher… Continue reading

Rep. Les Gara, D-Anchorage, asks a question of Vincent Lee, director of Major Projects Development for TransCanada, about a proposed gasline buyout by the state to the House Finance Committee at the Capitol on Wednesday.

TransCanada exec: Company ready for buyout

The state’s partner in the AKLNG natural gas project says it’s ready to be bought out.Vincent Lee, director of major projects development for Canadian firm… Continue reading

Rep. Les Gara, D-Anchorage, asks a question of Vincent Lee, director of Major Projects Development for TransCanada, about a proposed gasline buyout by the state to the House Finance Committee at the Capitol on Wednesday.
Members of Xavante indigenous from Brazil hold up signs in Portuguese that read: "If the PEC is approved, Brazil will stop," top, and "Our life is not a game" as they protest a proposed constitutional amendment that would put the demarcation of indigenous lands into the hands of the Congress Wednesday at the World Indigenous Games in Palmas, Brazil.

Protest erupts during World Indigenous Games in Brazil

PALMAS, Brazil — A noisy demonstration broke out Wednesday during the 100-meter dash competition at the World Indigenous Games, forcing a premature end to the… Continue reading

Members of Xavante indigenous from Brazil hold up signs in Portuguese that read: "If the PEC is approved, Brazil will stop," top, and "Our life is not a game" as they protest a proposed constitutional amendment that would put the demarcation of indigenous lands into the hands of the Congress Wednesday at the World Indigenous Games in Palmas, Brazil.
Migrants walk along a road after crossing the border between Austria and Germany on Wednesday.

Austria to build fence along Slovenia border

VIENNA — Austria, a strong critic of fences built to cope with Europe’s migrant influx, on Wednesday announced it is joining other nations that have… Continue reading

Migrants walk along a road after crossing the border between Austria and Germany on Wednesday.

Ukraine faces years of dependence on Western aid

VELYKI PRYTSKY, Ukraine — Looking on from her vegetable patch at the motorcade of U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, Ukrainian villager Olha Voloshchenko says… Continue reading

Sheriff fires deputy for tossing teen across classroom

COLUMBIA, S.C. — A deputy who flipped a disruptive student out of her desk and tossed her across her math class floor was fired on… Continue reading

An unmanned Army surveillance blimp which broke loose from its ground tether in Maryland floats through the air about 1,000 feet about the ground while dragging a several thousand foot tether line just south of Millville, Pa., Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2015. (Jimmy May/Bloomsburg Press Enterprise via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT

Army blimp breaks loose, drifts over Pa.

MUNCY, Pa. — An unmanned Army surveillance blimp broke loose from its mooring in Maryland and floated over Pennsylvania for hours Wednesday with two fighter… Continue reading

An unmanned Army surveillance blimp which broke loose from its ground tether in Maryland floats through the air about 1,000 feet about the ground while dragging a several thousand foot tether line just south of Millville, Pa., Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2015. (Jimmy May/Bloomsburg Press Enterprise via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT

Hastert pleads guilty, acknowledges hush-money scheme

CHICAGO — Dennis Hastert pleaded guilty Wednesday to evading banking laws in a hush-money scheme, averting a potentially lurid trial that could have dredged up… Continue reading

Astronaut completes spacewalk right before setting US record

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA’s yearlong spaceman, Scott Kelly, chalked up his first spacewalk Wednesday just hours before he sets a record for the… Continue reading

Shortchanged Sandy victims seeing some cash 3 years later

NEW YORK (AP) — Many people who complained a federal insurance program shortchanged them after Superstorm Sandy swamped their homes are getting some validation three… Continue reading