4 face charges tied to ATM thefts in Anchorage

The first of two cases filed Tuesday charges Jerd Thacker, Cristi Cozzeti and Jordan Cook with possession of stolen bank property – an ATM taken from First National Bank Alaska off Old Seward Highway on March 1, according to the charges. An Alaska state trooper arrested them on a property near Big Lake where an allegedly stolen truck and the ATM were found, according to a criminal complaint written by FBI special agent Barry Vaughan.

U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, speaks to the Anchorage Chamber…

U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, speaks to the Alaska Chamber during a roundtable discussion about the Affordable Care Act on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2017, at the Petroleum Club Anchorage. Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan met with state business leaders in Anchorage on Wednesday to discuss the embattled Affordable Care Act, as protesters rallied outside with calls to keep the health care law intact.

VP Pence may have to break tie to get deVos confirmed

Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins each came out Wednesday against Betsy de Vos, President Trump’s pick to head the Education Department The billionaire GOP megadonor has been a major supporter of private school education vouchers and flubbed questions at her confirmation hearing The GOP opponents are not filibustering the nomination, which would allow it to go forward on a simple majority vote Vice President Mike Pence may need to cast the deciding vote in order to confirm the nomination of Betsy deVos, President Trump’s pick to run the Education Department.

GOP Senate pair rule out voting for DeVos, putting nomination in jeopardy

Donald Trump’s nomination of school choice advocate Betsy DeVos as education secretary appeared in jeopardy Wednesday with two Republican senators saying they will vote against her. Amid fierce criticism from Democrats and teachers unions, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska announced their opposition to DeVos due to her lack of experience in the nation’s public schools.

Sentencing reset for Alaska strip club owner in dumping case

A sentencing hearing has been canceled for the second day in a row in the case of an Alaska man who was convicted of illegally dumping human waste into a harbor while operating a floating strip club This 2014 photo shows the Wild Alaskan, a converted crabbing boat that had been used as a strip club, moored near downtown Kodiak, Alaska. A sentencing hearing has been rescheduled for Darren Byler, who was found guilty of illegally dumping human waste into a harbor from the boat.

Republicans step up push for Arctic drilling in wildlife refuge

Buoyed by Donald Trump’s election, Republicans are pushing to allow oil exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, an area in northern Alaska that’s been a political battleground for drillers and conservationists for decades. This month, two Alaska Republicans introduced legislation to allow development of as many as 2,000 acres in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Lawmaker who has long shunned spotlight is becoming speaker

In this Nov. 9, 2016, file photo, Rep. Bryce Edgmon, D-Dillingham, speaks to reporters at a news conference in Anchorage, Alaska. Edgmon, the incoming speaker of the Alaska House, known as a level-headed moderate willing to work across party lines, faces major tests in leading a new majority coalition and trying to secure agreement on a plan to address the state’s multibillion-dollar deficit.

Obama Said to Use 1953 Law to Restrict Offshore Oil Drilling

President Barack Obama is preparing to block the sale of new offshore drilling rights in most of the U.S. Arctic and parts of the Atlantic, a move that could indefinitely restrict oil production there, according to people familiar with the decision. Obama will invoke a provision in a 1953 law that gives him wide latitude to withdraw U.S. waters from future oil and gas leasing, said the people who spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision had not been announced.