National News

Dorothy Thomson stands while giving a thumbs down as Gov. Mike Dunleavy gives his State of Alaska Address during the 2019 Alaska Federation of Natives Convention Thursday, Oct. 17, 2019. The 2019 convention was the last in-person convention as the COVID-19 pandemic has caused the meeting to go digital for the second year in a row. (Eric Engman/Fairbanks Daily News-Miner via AP)

‘Relationships are key’: AFN Convention brings leaders to the table

All levels of leadership.

 

This picture shows a trigger lock, which according to local activists, is an inexpensive way to secure guns and help prevent unintentional shootings. (Courtesy photo/Sally Rue)

Local group urges residents to Be SMART about guns

‘Unintentional child shootings are 100% preventable’

 

A flu shot is administered at a free vaccine clinic in Juneau on Nov. 23, 2021, and on Thursday health officials nationwide urged people to get inoculated for both COVID-19 and the flu ahead of the holiday season. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire file)

Health officials push vaccines, boosters to combat variant

A lot of unknowns.

 

AP Photo / Jae C. Hong Air China flight crew members in hazmat suits walk through the arrivals area Tuesday at Los Angeles International Airport. The U.S. on Wednesday reported its first case of the omicron variant.

Biden to announce testing, booster expansion

Announcement Thursday.

AP Photo / Jae C. Hong Air China flight crew members in hazmat suits walk through the arrivals area Tuesday at Los Angeles International Airport. The U.S. on Wednesday reported its first case of the omicron variant.
The entrance to the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area in the Tongass National Forest was covered in snow on Friday, Nov. 19, 2021, a day after federal authorities announced the next step in restoring the 2001 Roadless Rule on the forest. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

Feds put freeze on Roadless Rule rollback

On the Roadless Rule again.

The entrance to the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area in the Tongass National Forest was covered in snow on Friday, Nov. 19, 2021, a day after federal authorities announced the next step in restoring the 2001 Roadless Rule on the forest. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
In this Empire file photo, Juneau citizen Mary Ellen Yadao signs her name to vote in the City and Borough of Juneau Municipal Election on Oct. 6, 2020. Speaking to a panel of cybersecurity experts Thursday, Lt. Gov. Kevin Meyer said the state is taking advantage of federal resources to bolster election security. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire file)

Lt Gov talks cybersecurity, election planning

Trust is key.

In this Empire file photo, Juneau citizen Mary Ellen Yadao signs her name to vote in the City and Borough of Juneau Municipal Election on Oct. 6, 2020. Speaking to a panel of cybersecurity experts Thursday, Lt. Gov. Kevin Meyer said the state is taking advantage of federal resources to bolster election security. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire file)
Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire This August photo shows the cutter Midgett moored in Juneau. The U.S. Coast Guard, including the Midgett, is as of early November edging toward total vaccination.

Coast Guard edges toward full active-duty vaccination nationwide

Along with the other armed services, more than 90% of active duty members are fully vaccinated.

Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire This August photo shows the cutter Midgett moored in Juneau. The U.S. Coast Guard, including the Midgett, is as of early November edging toward total vaccination.
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican, speaks to reporters after filing for re-election Friday, Nov. 12, 2021, at the Division of Elections office in Anchorage, Alaska, setting up a race against a primary challenger endorsed by former President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
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Murkowski makes candidacy official

‘A feud from outside.’

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican, speaks to reporters after filing for re-election Friday, Nov. 12, 2021, at the Division of Elections office in Anchorage, Alaska, setting up a race against a primary challenger endorsed by former President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
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This October 2021 photo provided by Pfizer shows boxes of kid-size doses of its COVID-19 vaccine. The U.S. moved a step closer to expanding vaccinations for millions more children as a panel of government advisers on Tuesday, Oct. 26, endorsed kid-size doses of Pfizer's shots for 5- to 11-year-olds. (Pfizer via AP)

City plans five pediatric vaccine clinic for next week

Sign ups to come.

This October 2021 photo provided by Pfizer shows boxes of kid-size doses of its COVID-19 vaccine. The U.S. moved a step closer to expanding vaccinations for millions more children as a panel of government advisers on Tuesday, Oct. 26, endorsed kid-size doses of Pfizer's shots for 5- to 11-year-olds. (Pfizer via AP)
Afghanistan

Goldbelt employees among those evacuated from Afghanistan

Landed in Qatar.

Afghanistan
Juneau residents gathered around the statue of William H. Seward in downtown Juneau on Monday, Oct. 4, 2021, for the local version of a national rally for abortion rights. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

Juneau rallies for abortion rights

Tension over Texas.

Juneau residents gathered around the statue of William H. Seward in downtown Juneau on Monday, Oct. 4, 2021, for the local version of a national rally for abortion rights. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
Courtesy photo / Kate Troll Kate Troll, right, and Yalda Battori, stand in front of pictures colored by refugee children from Afghanistan at Fort McCoy in Wisconsin. Troll recently returned from a two week deployment with the American Red Cross at McCoy, where nearly 13,000 Afghans are awaiting resettlement in the U.S.

‘This is something that unites us all’: Alaskans help refugees resettle

100 over six months.

Courtesy photo / Kate Troll Kate Troll, right, and Yalda Battori, stand in front of pictures colored by refugee children from Afghanistan at Fort McCoy in Wisconsin. Troll recently returned from a two week deployment with the American Red Cross at McCoy, where nearly 13,000 Afghans are awaiting resettlement in the U.S.
Courtesy photo / Paxson Woelber, The Alaska Landmine Christine Hill sits in the Municipality of Anchorage Assembly’s chambers on Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021, wearing a yellow Star of David reading “do not consent” to protest the implementation of masking requirements in public places meant to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Jewish groups say Holocaust comparisons a worrisome trend

Anchorage protest most recent, high-profile example.

Courtesy photo / Paxson Woelber, The Alaska Landmine Christine Hill sits in the Municipality of Anchorage Assembly’s chambers on Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021, wearing a yellow Star of David reading “do not consent” to protest the implementation of masking requirements in public places meant to curb the spread of COVID-19.
In this July 2017 photo, the midnight sun shines across sea ice along the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The Biden administration is stepping up its work to figure about what to do about the thawing Arctic, which is warming three times faster than the rest of the world. The White House said Friday, Sept. 24, 2021, that it is reactivating the Arctic Executive Steering Committee, which coordinates domestic regulations and works with other Arctic nations. It also is adding six new members to the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, including two indigenous Alaskans. (AP Photo / David Goldman)

White House steps up work on what to do about thawing Arctic

The White House said Friday it is reactivating the Arctic Executive Steering Committee.

In this July 2017 photo, the midnight sun shines across sea ice along the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The Biden administration is stepping up its work to figure about what to do about the thawing Arctic, which is warming three times faster than the rest of the world. The White House said Friday, Sept. 24, 2021, that it is reactivating the Arctic Executive Steering Committee, which coordinates domestic regulations and works with other Arctic nations. It also is adding six new members to the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, including two indigenous Alaskans. (AP Photo / David Goldman)
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, introduced legislation to permanently exempt large ships from the Passenger Vessel Services Act, which threatened Alaska's cruise ship season this year. The PVSA puts regulations on large cruise ship vessels, like this one entering the Gastineau Channel on Aug. 22, which are critical to the local tourism industry. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

Murkowski enters bill to exempt Alaska from Passenger Vessel Services Act

Legislation would let ships travel to Alaska without stopping in Canada.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, introduced legislation to permanently exempt large ships from the Passenger Vessel Services Act, which threatened Alaska's cruise ship season this year. The PVSA puts regulations on large cruise ship vessels, like this one entering the Gastineau Channel on Aug. 22, which are critical to the local tourism industry. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
Sgt. Joemicheal Cristobal, Spc. Osias Passi, and Spc. Brennon Westfall, members of the Alaska Army National Guard and Task Force-Alaska, log trailer and driver information on a yard dog sheet, at a transportation yard in Roseland, Louisiana, Sept. 7, 2021. (U.S. Army National Guard / Staff Sgt. Jacob Tyrrell)

Alaska National Guard lends a hand in Louisiana

A small detachment deployed down south to assist recovery from Hurricane Ida.

Sgt. Joemicheal Cristobal, Spc. Osias Passi, and Spc. Brennon Westfall, members of the Alaska Army National Guard and Task Force-Alaska, log trailer and driver information on a yard dog sheet, at a transportation yard in Roseland, Louisiana, Sept. 7, 2021. (U.S. Army National Guard / Staff Sgt. Jacob Tyrrell)
A health care worker prepares a dose of COVID-19 vaccine. There’s concern that COVID-19 vaccination could be made mandatory by businesses for activities such as travel— or employment. President Joe Biden is announcing sweeping new federal vaccine requirements affecting as many as 100 million Americans in an all-out effort to increase COVID-19 vaccinations and curb the surging delta variant. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)

Sweeping new vaccine mandates for 100 million Americans

The order includes exceptions for workers seeking religious or medical exemptions from vaccination.

A health care worker prepares a dose of COVID-19 vaccine. There’s concern that COVID-19 vaccination could be made mandatory by businesses for activities such as travel— or employment. President Joe Biden is announcing sweeping new federal vaccine requirements affecting as many as 100 million Americans in an all-out effort to increase COVID-19 vaccinations and curb the surging delta variant. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)
A worker with the Pebble Mine project digs in the Bristol Bay region of Alaska near the village of Iliamma, Alaska. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday, Sept. 9, 2021, it would seek to restart a process that could restrict mining in Alaska’s Bristol Bay region, which is renowned for its salmon runs. The announcement is the latest in a long-running dispute over a proposed copper-and-gold mine in the southwest Alaska region. (AP Photo / Al Grillo)

EPA seeks to restart process that could restrict proposed Pebble Mine

The announcement is the latest in a long-running dispute.

A worker with the Pebble Mine project digs in the Bristol Bay region of Alaska near the village of Iliamma, Alaska. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday, Sept. 9, 2021, it would seek to restart a process that could restrict mining in Alaska’s Bristol Bay region, which is renowned for its salmon runs. The announcement is the latest in a long-running dispute over a proposed copper-and-gold mine in the southwest Alaska region. (AP Photo / Al Grillo)
This Feb. 9, 2016, photo shows ice forming on pipelines built near the Colville-Delta 5 field, or as it's more commonly known, CD5, drilling site on Alaska's North Slope. The Trump administration will consider a new management plan and expanded oil drilling for the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, an Indiana-size area that former Interior Secretary Ken Salazar characterized as an "iconic place on our Earth." The Bureau of Land Management announced Thursday, Nov. 21, 2019, it will take public comment through Jan. 21 on four alternatives for the reserve in northern Alaska. (AP Photo / Mark Thiessen)

Feds to reevaluate review of Alaska petroleum reserve

Review was basis for plans to open an additional roughly 6.8 million acres to oil and gas leasing.

This Feb. 9, 2016, photo shows ice forming on pipelines built near the Colville-Delta 5 field, or as it's more commonly known, CD5, drilling site on Alaska's North Slope. The Trump administration will consider a new management plan and expanded oil drilling for the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, an Indiana-size area that former Interior Secretary Ken Salazar characterized as an "iconic place on our Earth." The Bureau of Land Management announced Thursday, Nov. 21, 2019, it will take public comment through Jan. 21 on four alternatives for the reserve in northern Alaska. (AP Photo / Mark Thiessen)
This photo shows the U.S. Supreme Court on Capitol Hill in Washington. Traditionally, the process of getting an opinion from the U.S. Supreme Court takes months and those rulings are often narrowly tailored. Emergency orders, especially during the court’s summer break, revolve around specific issues, like individual death penalty cases. But that pattern has changed in recent years with decisions coming outside the court’s normal procedures. (AP Photo / J. Scott Applewhite)

Shadow docket Supreme Court decisions could affect millions

Since Aug. 24, that truncated process known as the shadow docket has moved at astronomical speed.

This photo shows the U.S. Supreme Court on Capitol Hill in Washington. Traditionally, the process of getting an opinion from the U.S. Supreme Court takes months and those rulings are often narrowly tailored. Emergency orders, especially during the court’s summer break, revolve around specific issues, like individual death penalty cases. But that pattern has changed in recent years with decisions coming outside the court’s normal procedures. (AP Photo / J. Scott Applewhite)