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Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University students with the Indian Legal Clinic offer their recommendations to improve the voting access and participation of Indians across the state on Thursday, Jan. 11, 2018, in Phoenix, Arizona. The presentation was part of a hearing by the Native American Voting Rights Coalition. (Anita Snow | The Associated Press)

Groups record voting rights abuses against Native Americans

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Election sites far from reservations. Poll workers who don’t speak tribal languages. Unequal access to early voting sites. Native Americans say they… Continue reading

Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University students with the Indian Legal Clinic offer their recommendations to improve the voting access and participation of Indians across the state on Thursday, Jan. 11, 2018, in Phoenix, Arizona. The presentation was part of a hearing by the Native American Voting Rights Coalition. (Anita Snow | The Associated Press)

Trump moves to vastly expand offshore drilling

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Thursday moved to vastly expand offshore drilling from the Atlantic to the Arctic oceans with a plan that would… Continue reading

Michael Penn | Juneau Empire file After the 42-foot boat Whimsea burned and sank in Don Statter Memorial Harbor in June, the federal Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund paid for cleanup and recovery of the boat. A tax supporting that fund is set to expire at the end of the year.

Federal support for oil spill fund will end in 2018

The nation’s main oil-spill response fund will lose its biggest financial support at the end of the month, according to federal officials and watchdog groups.… Continue reading

Michael Penn | Juneau Empire file After the 42-foot boat Whimsea burned and sank in Don Statter Memorial Harbor in June, the federal Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund paid for cleanup and recovery of the boat. A tax supporting that fund is set to expire at the end of the year.
Courtesy Image | C-SPAN Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, speaks about oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge on Tuesday during debates about the GOP tax cut on the floor of the U.S. Senate.

ANWR drilling approved

As the final votes were tallied and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, enthusiastically banged his gavel, U.S. Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, was smiling.… Continue reading

Courtesy Image | C-SPAN Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, speaks about oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge on Tuesday during debates about the GOP tax cut on the floor of the U.S. Senate.
In this Tuesday, April 7, 2015 photo, a Marine veteran holds a sign to show support for cannabis for post traumatic stress disorder sufferers, outside the State Capitol in Des Moines, Iowa. Twenty-eight states plus the District of Columbia have enabled the use of marijuana to treat PTSD, and the number has doubled just in the last two years amid increasingly visible advocacy from veterans’ groups. (Michael Zamora | The Des Moines Register File)

Veterans are key as surge of states OK medical pot for PTSD

NEW YORK (AP) — It was a telling setting for a decision on whether post-traumatic stress disorder patients could use medical marijuana. Against the backdrop… Continue reading

In this Tuesday, April 7, 2015 photo, a Marine veteran holds a sign to show support for cannabis for post traumatic stress disorder sufferers, outside the State Capitol in Des Moines, Iowa. Twenty-eight states plus the District of Columbia have enabled the use of marijuana to treat PTSD, and the number has doubled just in the last two years amid increasingly visible advocacy from veterans’ groups. (Michael Zamora | The Des Moines Register File)
Dennis Zotigh poses for a photo outside the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, Friday, Nov. 3, 2017. Many tribes even have their own national anthems known as flag songs that focus on veterans. They’re popular among Plains tribes from which the modern powwow originated, said Zotigh of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. Powwows are social gatherings, generally with competitive dancing. (Susan Walsh | The Associated Press)

In Indian Country, honoring flag might mean different anthem

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — As fierce debate rages about “taking a knee” during the national anthem to protest social injustice, Native Americans have a unique take… Continue reading

Dennis Zotigh poses for a photo outside the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, Friday, Nov. 3, 2017. Many tribes even have their own national anthems known as flag songs that focus on veterans. They’re popular among Plains tribes from which the modern powwow originated, said Zotigh of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. Powwows are social gatherings, generally with competitive dancing. (Susan Walsh | The Associated Press)
President Donald Trump, right, meets with Navajo Code Talkers Peter MacDonald, center, and Thomas Begay, left, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Monday, Nov. 27, 2017. (Susan Walsh | The Associated Press)

Trump, honoring Navajos, revives ‘Pocahontas’ jab at Warren

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump returned to his own kind of code talking Monday by deriding Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren as “Pocahontas” at a White… Continue reading

President Donald Trump, right, meets with Navajo Code Talkers Peter MacDonald, center, and Thomas Begay, left, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Monday, Nov. 27, 2017. (Susan Walsh | The Associated Press)

FCC chairman sets out to repeal ‘net neutrality’ rules

The Associated Press WASHINGTON — Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai on Tuesday followed through on his pledge to repeal 2015 regulations designed to ensure… Continue reading

Mind of a killer: FBI questions Vegas gunman’s girlfriend

LAS VEGAS — FBI agents questioned the Las Vegas gunman’s girlfriend on Wednesday as they struggled to get inside the mind of Stephen Paddock, a… Continue reading

‘It breaks my heart’: Las Vegas shooting victims mourned

They were school teachers and youth football coaches, real estate agents and local business owners. They were parents, siblings, husbands, wives, neighbors and friends. They… Continue reading

In this Monday, Oct. 2, 2017 photo, drapes billow out of broken windows at the Mandalay Bay resort and casino on the Las Vegas Strip, following a mass shooting at a music festival in Las Vegas. From two broken-out windows of the resort, Stephen Craig Paddock had an unobstructed view to rain automatic gunfire on the crowd, with few places for them to hide. Sunday night’s bloodbath left dozens of people dead and hundreds wounded. (John Locher | The Associated Press)

Fear grips Vegas Strip; gunman kills 59

LAS VEGAS — The rapid-fire popping sounded like firecrackers at first, and many in the crowd of 22,000 country music fans didn’t understand what was… Continue reading

In this Monday, Oct. 2, 2017 photo, drapes billow out of broken windows at the Mandalay Bay resort and casino on the Las Vegas Strip, following a mass shooting at a music festival in Las Vegas. From two broken-out windows of the resort, Stephen Craig Paddock had an unobstructed view to rain automatic gunfire on the crowd, with few places for them to hide. Sunday night’s bloodbath left dozens of people dead and hundreds wounded. (John Locher | The Associated Press)
In this photo taken July 31, 2015, an orca whale leaps out of the water near a whale watching boat in the Salish Sea in the San Juan Islands, Washington. Ships passing the narrow busy channel off Washington’s San Juan Islands are slowing down this summer as part of an experiment to protect the small endangered population of southern resident killer whales. Vessel noise can interfere with the killer whales’ ability to hunt, navigate and communicate with each other, so US researchers are looking into what impact the project will have on the orcas. (Elaine Thompson | The Associated Press File)

Ships slowing in busy channel to protect endangered orcas

SEATTLE — Ships moving through a busy channel off Washington state’s San Juan Island are slowing down this summer as part of a study to… Continue reading

In this photo taken July 31, 2015, an orca whale leaps out of the water near a whale watching boat in the Salish Sea in the San Juan Islands, Washington. Ships passing the narrow busy channel off Washington’s San Juan Islands are slowing down this summer as part of an experiment to protect the small endangered population of southern resident killer whales. Vessel noise can interfere with the killer whales’ ability to hunt, navigate and communicate with each other, so US researchers are looking into what impact the project will have on the orcas. (Elaine Thompson | The Associated Press File)

Hunters, government, industry at odds over deer urine

ALBANY, N.Y. — Deer hunters who like to lure their quarry with a dab of eau de doe-in-rut will have to find another way to… Continue reading

In this Oct. 19, 2016 photo, a man fishes for salmon in the Snake River above the Lower Granite Dam in Washington state. A group that represents farmers says saving imperiled salmon in the largest river system in the Northwest U.S. is too costly and is turning to the Trump administration. The Columbia-Snake River Irrigators Association wants the government to convene a Cabinet-level committee known as the “God Squad” due to its authority to allow exemptions to the Endangered Species Act. (Jesse Tinsley | The Spokesman-Review)

Trump administration urged to avoid salmon protection rules

BOISE, Idaho — A group that represents farmers is calling the costs of saving imperiled salmon in the largest river system in the Pacific Northwest… Continue reading

In this Oct. 19, 2016 photo, a man fishes for salmon in the Snake River above the Lower Granite Dam in Washington state. A group that represents farmers says saving imperiled salmon in the largest river system in the Northwest U.S. is too costly and is turning to the Trump administration. The Columbia-Snake River Irrigators Association wants the government to convene a Cabinet-level committee known as the “God Squad” due to its authority to allow exemptions to the Endangered Species Act. (Jesse Tinsley | The Spokesman-Review)
In this image from video provided by C-SPAN2, Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, speaks the floor of the Senate on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, July 25, 2017. McCain returned to Congress for the first time since being diagnosed with brain cancer. (C-SPAN2 via AP)

Senate rejects proposal for Obamacare repeal

WASHINGTON — The Republican-run Senate has rejected a GOP proposal to scuttle President Barack Obama’s health care law and give Congress two years to devise… Continue reading

In this image from video provided by C-SPAN2, Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, speaks the floor of the Senate on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, July 25, 2017. McCain returned to Congress for the first time since being diagnosed with brain cancer. (C-SPAN2 via AP)
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, walks from the Senate Chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, July 25, 2017, as he steers the Senate toward a crucial vote on the Republican health care bill. (J. Scott Applewhite | The Associated Press)

By a hair, Senate votes to debate GOP health care bill

WASHINGTON — With Vice President Mike Pence breaking a 50-50 tie, the Senate voted by a hair Tuesday to start debating Republican legislation to tear… Continue reading

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, walks from the Senate Chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, July 25, 2017, as he steers the Senate toward a crucial vote on the Republican health care bill. (J. Scott Applewhite | The Associated Press)

Analysis: Despite test, North Korean ICBM likely years away

TOKYO — Despite North Korea’s claim its intercontinental ballistic missile launch shows it can attack targets anywhere it wants, experts say it will probably be… Continue reading

This image made from video of a news bulletin aired by North Korea’s KRT on Tuesday, July 4, 2017, shows what was said to be North Korea leader Kim Jung Un, center, using binoculars to watch the launch of a Hwasong-14 intercontinental ballistic missile, ICBM, in North Korea’s northwest. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this photo. North Korea claimed to have tested its first intercontinental ballistic missile in a launch Tuesday, a potential game-changing development in its push to militarily challenge Washington — but a declaration that conflicts with earlier South Korean and U.S. assessments that it had an intermediate range. (KRT via AP Video)

Parsing hype from reality in North Korea’s ICBM claim

SEOUL, South Korea — If North Korea’s claim Tuesday of its first ICBM test-launch is true, it has barreled over a red line that the… Continue reading

This image made from video of a news bulletin aired by North Korea’s KRT on Tuesday, July 4, 2017, shows what was said to be North Korea leader Kim Jung Un, center, using binoculars to watch the launch of a Hwasong-14 intercontinental ballistic missile, ICBM, in North Korea’s northwest. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this photo. North Korea claimed to have tested its first intercontinental ballistic missile in a launch Tuesday, a potential game-changing development in its push to militarily challenge Washington — but a declaration that conflicts with earlier South Korean and U.S. assessments that it had an intermediate range. (KRT via AP Video)

Trump walks out on global climate pact

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump declared Thursday he was pulling the U.S. from the landmark Paris climate agreement, striking a major blow to worldwide efforts… Continue reading

Coco Douglas, 8, leaves a handmade sign and rocks she painted at a memorial in Portland, Oregon on Saturday, May 27, 2017, for two bystanders who were stabbed to death Friday while trying to stop a man who was yelling anti-Muslim slurs and acting aggressively toward two young women. From left are Coco’s brother, Desmond Douglas; her father, Christopher Douglas; and her stepmother, Angel Sauls. (Gillian Flaccus | The Associated Press)

Portland mayor: Call off free-speech rally in wake of fatal stabbing

The mayor of Portland, Oregon, on Monday urged U.S. officials and organizers to cancel a “Trump Free Speech Rally” and similar events, saying they are… Continue reading

Coco Douglas, 8, leaves a handmade sign and rocks she painted at a memorial in Portland, Oregon on Saturday, May 27, 2017, for two bystanders who were stabbed to death Friday while trying to stop a man who was yelling anti-Muslim slurs and acting aggressively toward two young women. From left are Coco’s brother, Desmond Douglas; her father, Christopher Douglas; and her stepmother, Angel Sauls. (Gillian Flaccus | The Associated Press)