National News

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, speaks during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on the federal coronavirus response on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, March 18, 2021. (AP Photo / Susan Walsh)

White House drops Interior nominee after Murkowski objects

Tommy Beaudreau, who grew up in Alaska, is expected as new nominee.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, speaks during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on the federal coronavirus response on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, March 18, 2021. (AP Photo / Susan Walsh)
Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to the media after a closed-door morning session of US-China talks in Anchorage, Alaska on Friday, March 19, 2021. (Frederic J. Brown / Pool via AP)

US, China wrap up testy 1st face-to-face talks under Biden

The Anchorage meetings were a new test in increasingly troubled relations between the two countries.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to the media after a closed-door morning session of US-China talks in Anchorage, Alaska on Friday, March 19, 2021. (Frederic J. Brown / Pool via AP)
Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks on foreign policy at the State Department in Washington. The United States and China will face a new test in their increasingly troubled relations when top officials from both countries meet in Alaska. The Biden administration has yet to signal it’s ready or willing to back down on hard-line stances taken by the Trump administration. Nor have the Chinese shown any sign the battle is over. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / Pool)

Troubled US-China ties face new test in Alaska meeting

The stage is set for a contentious first face-to-face meeting.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks on foreign policy at the State Department in Washington. The United States and China will face a new test in their increasingly troubled relations when top officials from both countries meet in Alaska. The Biden administration has yet to signal it’s ready or willing to back down on hard-line stances taken by the Trump administration. Nor have the Chinese shown any sign the battle is over. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / Pool)
In this February 2020 photo, a W-4 form is viewed in New York. The IRS will delay the traditional April 15 tax filing due date until May 17, 2021, to cope with added duties and provide Americans more flexibility. (AP Photo / Patrick Sison)

IRS will delay tax filing due date until May 17

Pushed from April 15 until May 17.

In this February 2020 photo, a W-4 form is viewed in New York. The IRS will delay the traditional April 15 tax filing due date until May 17, 2021, to cope with added duties and provide Americans more flexibility. (AP Photo / Patrick Sison)
The Juneau School District, it’s headquarters seen here in this Juneau Empire file photo, will receive a portion of Alaska’s more than $358 million in federal relief money for schools. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire file)

Alaska to receive over $358 million to reopen schools

Reopen “quickly and safely.”

The Juneau School District, it’s headquarters seen here in this Juneau Empire file photo, will receive a portion of Alaska’s more than $358 million in federal relief money for schools. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire file)
Antony Blinken, U.S. secretary of state, speaks to Toshimitsu Motegi, Japan's foreign minister, and Nobuo Kishi, Japan's defense minister, both not pictured, during the two plus two security talks at Iikura guest house in Tokyo Tuesday, March 16, 2021. Defense and foreign ministers from the U.S. and Japan are meeting to discuss their concern over China's growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region as the Biden administration tries to reaffirm engagement with its key regional allies. (Kiyoshi Ota / Pool Photo)

White House sets low expectations for China talks in Alaska

Senior administration official: Talks allow sides chance for “taking stock” in the relationship.

Antony Blinken, U.S. secretary of state, speaks to Toshimitsu Motegi, Japan's foreign minister, and Nobuo Kishi, Japan's defense minister, both not pictured, during the two plus two security talks at Iikura guest house in Tokyo Tuesday, March 16, 2021. Defense and foreign ministers from the U.S. and Japan are meeting to discuss their concern over China's growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region as the Biden administration tries to reaffirm engagement with its key regional allies. (Kiyoshi Ota / Pool Photo)
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, speaks during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Alaska Republican Party has not only censured Sen. Murkowski for voting to convict former President Donald Trump in his impeachment trial, but it also does not want her to identity as a GOP candidate in next year’s election, a member of the party’s State Central Committee said Tuesday, March 16, 2021. (Sarah Silbiger / Pool Photo via AP)

State GOP wants Murkowski to stop identifying as Republican

Former President Donald Trump has said he would campaign against Murkowski in Alaska.

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, speaks during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Alaska Republican Party has not only censured Sen. Murkowski for voting to convict former President Donald Trump in his impeachment trial, but it also does not want her to identity as a GOP candidate in next year’s election, a member of the party’s State Central Committee said Tuesday, March 16, 2021. (Sarah Silbiger / Pool Photo via AP)
FILE - This May 8, 2008, file photo shows blank checks on an idle press at the Philadelphia Regional Financial Center, which disburses payments on behalf of federal agencies in Philadelphia. Officials at the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service said Friday, March 12, 2021 that processing the new round of stimulus payments has already begun, with the aim of having the first payments start showing up in bank accounts this weekend. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

Feds: Relief checks are coming

The checks are in the mail.

FILE - This May 8, 2008, file photo shows blank checks on an idle press at the Philadelphia Regional Financial Center, which disburses payments on behalf of federal agencies in Philadelphia. Officials at the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service said Friday, March 12, 2021 that processing the new round of stimulus payments has already begun, with the aim of having the first payments start showing up in bank accounts this weekend. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
Rep. Deb Haaland, D-N.M., is questioned by Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., during the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources hearing on her nomination to be Interior Secretary, Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021 on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Jim Watson / Pool)

Haaland OK’d at Interior, 1st Native American Cabinet head

The Senate on Monday confirmed New Mexico Rep. Deb Haaland as interior secretary.

Rep. Deb Haaland, D-N.M., is questioned by Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., during the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources hearing on her nomination to be Interior Secretary, Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021 on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Jim Watson / Pool)
Erin Jaske and Scott Sandridge cross country ski across the Manette bridge in Bremerton, Wash., on a snowy day, in this Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021, file photo. During the pandemic, people around the world sought relief from lock downs and working from home in leisure sports. (Meegan M. Reid / Kitsap Sun)

Call of the wild: Great outdoors is great escape in pandemic

Outdoor enthusiasts are certainly stepping outside to play in whatever environment.

Erin Jaske and Scott Sandridge cross country ski across the Manette bridge in Bremerton, Wash., on a snowy day, in this Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021, file photo. During the pandemic, people around the world sought relief from lock downs and working from home in leisure sports. (Meegan M. Reid / Kitsap Sun)
FILE - This May 8, 2008, file photo shows blank checks on an idle press at the Philadelphia Regional Financial Center, which disburses payments on behalf of federal agencies in Philadelphia. Officials at the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service said Friday, March 12, 2021 that processing the new round of stimulus payments has already begun, with the aim of having the first payments start showing up in bank accounts this weekend. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

IRS: New round of COVID relief payments on the way

Processing of the new round of stimulus payments has already begun.

FILE - This May 8, 2008, file photo shows blank checks on an idle press at the Philadelphia Regional Financial Center, which disburses payments on behalf of federal agencies in Philadelphia. Officials at the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service said Friday, March 12, 2021 that processing the new round of stimulus payments has already begun, with the aim of having the first payments start showing up in bank accounts this weekend. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star steams under the aurora borealis during its current Arctic deployment patrolling the maritime boundary with Russia. (Petty Officer 1st Class Cynthia Oldham / U.S. Coast Guard)

‘Ice’ to be home again: looking back on record-setting icebreaker deployment

Long nights, thick ice, and hamsters: the Polar Star finishes a rare northern deployment.

Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star steams under the aurora borealis during its current Arctic deployment patrolling the maritime boundary with Russia. (Petty Officer 1st Class Cynthia Oldham / U.S. Coast Guard)
President Joe Biden, seen in this March 8 photo, and his administration are supporting a controversial road through a national wildlife refuge on the remote Alaska Peninsula that is home to migrating waterfowl, continuing the policy of former President Donald Trump.(AP Photo / Patrick Semansky )

Biden shows support for controversial road in Alaska refuge

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — President Joe Biden’s administration is supporting a controversial road through a national wildlife refuge on the remote Alaska Peninsula that is home… Continue reading

President Joe Biden, seen in this March 8 photo, and his administration are supporting a controversial road through a national wildlife refuge on the remote Alaska Peninsula that is home to migrating waterfowl, continuing the policy of former President Donald Trump.(AP Photo / Patrick Semansky )
Medical Assistant Keona Shepard holds up the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine as she prepares to administer it at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center during the mass coronavirus vaccination in New Orleans, in this Thursday, March 4, 2021, file photo. (Chris Granger / The Advocate)

CDC: Fully vaccinated people can gather without masks

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced the guidance Monday.

Medical Assistant Keona Shepard holds up the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine as she prepares to administer it at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center during the mass coronavirus vaccination in New Orleans, in this Thursday, March 4, 2021, file photo. (Chris Granger / The Advocate)
Marvin Roberts flashes four fingers in a sign of solidarity for the so-called Fairbanks Four following his address at the Alaska Federation of Natives conference in Anchorage in this 2017 photo. Roberts and three other men were convicted of killing a Fairbanks teenager in 1997. Four men who say they were illegally imprisoned for nearly two decades for the murder of a teenager in Alaska will have their lawsuit go forward after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to get involved in the case. The high court turned away the case Monday. As is typical, the justices did not comment in rejecting the case. That leaves in place a decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In January of last year it overturned a lower court ruling that had dismissed a lawsuit by the “Fairbanks Four” against the city of Fairbanks. (AP Photo / Mark Thiessen)

Supreme Court won’t get involved in Fairbanks Four case

The high court turned away the case Monday.

Marvin Roberts flashes four fingers in a sign of solidarity for the so-called Fairbanks Four following his address at the Alaska Federation of Natives conference in Anchorage in this 2017 photo. Roberts and three other men were convicted of killing a Fairbanks teenager in 1997. Four men who say they were illegally imprisoned for nearly two decades for the murder of a teenager in Alaska will have their lawsuit go forward after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to get involved in the case. The high court turned away the case Monday. As is typical, the justices did not comment in rejecting the case. That leaves in place a decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In January of last year it overturned a lower court ruling that had dismissed a lawsuit by the “Fairbanks Four” against the city of Fairbanks. (AP Photo / Mark Thiessen)
The Capitol is seen at dusk as work in the Senate is stalled on the Democrats’ $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, in Washington, Friday, March 5, 2021. Senators plan to continue to vote on amendments through the night. (AP Photo / J. Scott Applewhite)

Biden, Dems prevail as Senate OKs $1.9T virus relief bill

It passed 50-49, now heads to House.

The Capitol is seen at dusk as work in the Senate is stalled on the Democrats’ $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, in Washington, Friday, March 5, 2021. Senators plan to continue to vote on amendments through the night. (AP Photo / J. Scott Applewhite)
Pharmacist Madeline Acquilano draws a syringe of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Conn., Wednesday, March 3, 2021. The first shipments of the vaccine arrived at the hospital this morning. Cities and states are rapidly expanding access to vaccines as the nation races to head off a resurgence in coronavirus infections and reopen schools and businesses battered by the pandemic. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

Appointments fill up quick as vaccine eligibility expands

There’s a waitlist.

Pharmacist Madeline Acquilano draws a syringe of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Conn., Wednesday, March 3, 2021. The first shipments of the vaccine arrived at the hospital this morning. Cities and states are rapidly expanding access to vaccines as the nation races to head off a resurgence in coronavirus infections and reopen schools and businesses battered by the pandemic. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
Alaska state Sen. Lora Reinbold, an Eagle River Republican, holds a copy of the Alaska Constitution during a committee hearing in Juneau, Alaska. Reinbold has been a vocal critic, along with other lawmakers, of Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s disaster declarations while the Legislature was not in session. She has used her committee to amplify voices of those who question the effectiveness of masks and the usefulness of the government’s emergency response. In a scathing letter that included references to her Facebook posts, Dunleavy accused Reinbold of misrepresenting the state’s COVID-19 response and deceiving the public. “The misinformation must end,” the governor wrote. (AP Photo / Becky Bohrer)

Some GOP state lawmakers help spread COVID-19 misinformation

Republican state lawmakers are using their platform to promote false information about the virus.

Alaska state Sen. Lora Reinbold, an Eagle River Republican, holds a copy of the Alaska Constitution during a committee hearing in Juneau, Alaska. Reinbold has been a vocal critic, along with other lawmakers, of Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s disaster declarations while the Legislature was not in session. She has used her committee to amplify voices of those who question the effectiveness of masks and the usefulness of the government’s emergency response. In a scathing letter that included references to her Facebook posts, Dunleavy accused Reinbold of misrepresenting the state’s COVID-19 response and deceiving the public. “The misinformation must end,” the governor wrote. (AP Photo / Becky Bohrer)
Courtesy photo / NASA The Perseverance rover, seen here from the descent stage, landed on Mars on Feb. 18.

Perseverance prepares to get down to it after lengthy commute to work

It’s bringing scientists sounds from out of this world.

Courtesy photo / NASA The Perseverance rover, seen here from the descent stage, landed on Mars on Feb. 18.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, speaks in an interview at the Empire's offices in Juneau on Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. Murkowski said rare earth resources was an area Alaska could, and should, take advantage of. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)

Could rare earth minerals be Alaska’s edge?

Green tech and defense tech.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, speaks in an interview at the Empire's offices in Juneau on Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. Murkowski said rare earth resources was an area Alaska could, and should, take advantage of. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)