Alaska lawmaker sees financial boon in refuge drilling

The sanctuary of the small-town Texas church where a gunman carried out a massacre will be turned into a temporary memorial for the more than two dozen victims. A Marine Corps drill instructor was convicted by a military jury of physically abusing young recruits, sometimes while drunk, and focusing his fury on three Muslim-American military volunteers.

California ablaze; Las Vegas aftermath; Drying wells

DISPATCH FROM CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES The massive wildfires in Northern California in mid-October forced thousands to quickly evacuate their homes as the fires advanced on neighborhoods and wineries. The American Red Cross set up makeshift evacuation centers in veterans' halls, churches and schools to accommodate the hundreds seeking refuge, some who had lost everything.

Alaskan picked to lead regional EPA office

Gov. Bill Walker says Hladick will leave his state role Nov. 1. Mike Navarre, the outgoing mayor of the Kenai Peninsula Borough, will succeed Hladick. In joining the EPA, Hladick will oversee a region that includes Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington and about 270 tribes.

Governors of 2 pot states push back on Trump administration

Governors in at least two states that have legalized recreational marijuana are pushing back against the Trump administration and defending their efforts to regulate the industry. Alaska Gov. Bill Walker, a one-time Republican no longer affiliated with a party, sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions this week asking the Department of Justice to maintain the Obama administration's more hands-off enforcement approach to states that have legalized the drug still banned at the federal level.

Pork barrel spending on the rise in Congress, watchdog group says

Rep. Don Young , shown in July 2014 at the Capitol in Washington, secured more than $200 million in earmarks for the so-called Bridge to Nowhere a decade ago, which would have connected a small town in Alaska to its airport. Despite declaring a moratorium on pork-barrel spending more than five years ago, members of Congress secured 163 earmarks in the 2017 federal budget worth $6.8 billion, according to a new report by Citizens Against Government Waste.

Bartlett CEO: A decade under House GOP health care bill could cost hospital $69 million

Juneau's public hospital could still stand to lose tens of millions of dollars under the bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives to replace the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare. That's according to numbers from the American Hospital Association.

GOP Says It’s Getting Close On Health Care, But The Votes Still Aren’t There

The White House and congressional GOP leaders swear they're closer to repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act , but a vote on the Republican health care plan may be further off than President Donald Trump hopes or thinks, as support among the rank-and-file is squishy and opposition among moderates doesn't look any less fierce than days before. on the health care bill, but that may just be another false start.

Cannabis caucus ready to ‘bump heads’ with AG

Congress is forming a cannabis caucus with high hopes of protecting a pot industry besieged by fears of a potential federal crackdown. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, a California Republican who is an outspoken supporter of President Donald Trump, is helping to lead the creation of the caucus.

U.S. State Dept has interest in upstream Canadian mining projects

The U.S. State Department has taken a positive step to recognize the concerns some Alaskans have with upstream Canadian mining projects, but the issue is far from resolved, according to the members of Alaska's congressional delegation. Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs Julia Frifield wrote in an Oct. 6 letter to the delegation that the State Department is actively engaged with Canadian officials to protect the watersheds that bisect the U.S.-Canada border along Southeast Alaska.

Todd Young calls out Bayh on 1980s SIA deal in Lafayette

Lafayette is playing a role in the race for U.S. Senate as Republican Congressman Todd Young uses the Subaru of Indiana Automotive plant as a leg up on his opponent, Democrat Evan Bayh. Mutz admits his visit to the Lafayette plant is a bit ironic, considering he lost against Young's opponent, Evan Bayh in the race for governor back in 1988.

House GOP uses funding bill to attack Arctic drilling rules

The Department of Interior finalized new safety rules for drilling in the Arctic Ocean off Alaska last week, but it took just six days for House Republicans to find a way to block them. Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, offered an amendment to a $32.1 billion spending bill for Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency that would prohibit the department from spending any money on the new regulations.