Alaska Native Scouts feted 67 years after rescuing Navy crew
Bruce Boolowon, then a lean 20-year-old, and a group of friends were hunting for murre eggs in a walrus skin boat on a remote Alaska island in the Bering Strait when they saw a crippled airplane flying low. Its 11 crewmen had injuries in varying degrees of severity, caused either by the bullets sprayed by the two jet fighters, shrapnel or the fireball that erupted when the Neptune landed wheels up on the tundra of St. Lawrence Island and fuel tanks stored in the plane’s belly exploded. The men took refuge in a ditch on St. Lawrence Island — just 40 miles (64 kilometers) from Siberia and 715 miles (1,151 kilometers) west of Anchorage — to avoid the exploding ammunition and waited, but for what they weren’t sure.
news.yahoo.comAlaska Native honored 67 years after rescue
In 1955, Siberian Yupik Eskimos, who were Alaska National Guard members, rescued a Navy plane shot down by Russian jets over St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Strait. Now, a surviving guardsmen and families of others are receiving a medal from the state of Alaska. (April 1) (AP video: Mark Thiessen)
news.yahoo.comHaaland criticized over ‘difficult’ choice on Willow project
WASHINGTON (AP) — In early March, President Joe Biden met with members of Alaska’s bipartisan congressional delegation as they implored him to approve a contentious oil drilling project in their state. Around the same time, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland held a very different meeting on the same topic. Gathering at Interior headquarters a half-mile (0.8 kilometers) from the White House, leaders of major environmental organizations and Indigenous groups pleaded with Haaland, the first Native American Cabinet member, to use her authority to block the Willow oil project. Environmental groups call the project a “carbon bomb” that would betray pledges made by Biden — and Haaland — to fight climate change and have mounted a social media #StopWillow campaign that has been seen hundreds of millions of times.
mlive.comBiden approves controversial Alaska oil project
The Biden administration’s approval of a massive oil development in northern Alaska commits the U.S. to yet another decades long crude project even as scientists urgently warn that only a halt to more fossil fuel emissions can stem climate change. (March 14)
news.yahoo.comDefending champion leaves Iditarod race over health concerns
Brent Sass, the defending Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race champion, withdrew from this year’s race on Saturday, citing concerns for his health. Sass scratched at the Eagle Island checkpoint, a statement from the Iditarod said. Eagle Island is about 600 miles (966 kilometers) into the nearly 1,000-mile (1,609-kilometer) race.
news.yahoo.comBiden faces dilemma in fight over large Alaska oil project
A decision on ConocoPhillips Alaska’s Willow project, in a federal oil reserve roughly the size of Indiana, could come by early March. Q: What is the Willow project? But in Alaska, Willow represents the biggest oil field in decades. A: Biden suspended oil and gas lease sales after taking office and promised to overhaul the government’s fossil fuels program. The Biden administration has offered less acreage for lease than previous administrations.
mlive.comSwarm of earthquakes at remote Alaska volcano signal unrest
A swarm of earthquakes occurring over the past few weeks has intensified at a remote Alaska volcano dormant for over a century, a possible indication of an impending eruption. The Alaska Volcano Observatory raised the alert level to advisory status for Tanaga Volcano late Tuesday after the quakes became very vigorous. “We started seeing a whole lot of earthquakes occurring, one after the other, several per minute,” said John Power, a research geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey stationed in Anchorage at the Alaska Volcano Observatory.
news.yahoo.comAlaska's arduous Iditarod kicks off with ceremonial start
Brent Sass was just miles from fulfilling his dream of winning the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Alaska when vicious, 60-mph (96-kph) winds whipped in from the Bering Sea, taking visibility down to about 10 feet (3 meters) and forcing him off his sled as his dogs hunkered down in the snow. “I did not voluntarily make that stop,” laughed Sass, who was nearing his first Iditarod victory last year but had five-time champion Dallas Seavey just a few miles behind. Sass regrouped and led his team of 11 dogs off the Bering Sea ice and down Nome’s main street to the iconic burled arch finish line, winning the Iditarod, the world's most famous sled dog race, in his seventh attempt.
news.yahoo.comBiden faces dilemma in fight over large Alaska oil project
The Biden administration is weighing approval of a major oil project on Alaska’s petroleum-rich North Slope that supporters say represents an economic lifeline for Indigenous communities but environmentalists say runs counter to President Joe Biden’s climate goals.
Alaska House censures GOP lawmaker over child abuse comments
An Alaska lawmaker with a history of incendiary remarks was censured by the state House Wednesday after he said it has been argued that cases of fatal child abuse can be a “cost savings” because the child won't need related government services. The House voted 35-1 to censure Republican Rep. David Eastman of Wasilla, with Eastman the lone dissent. Eastman was previously censured, in 2017, over comments he made suggesting there are women in Alaska who try to get pregnant to get a “free trip to the city” for abortions.
news.yahoo.comRare attack in Alaska renews interest in polar bear patrols
A polar bear attack that killed a mother and her 1-year-old son in far western Alaska this week underscores the risks of living alongside the world's largest land carnivores and has renewed interest in prevention programs known as bear patrols.