Climate change is causing ice withdrawal and creating stress for animals that live on it. When sick seals started showing up on the beaches off Barrow last July, some saw it as the latest evidence of global warming.

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State officials say Wednesday’s Cook Inlet oil and gas lease sale netted more than $6.8 million. Preliminary results indicate the sale is the second largest in Cook Inlet in a dozen years. Bill Barron, state Department of Natural Resources oil, says an gas division director, says five groups bid on 44 tracts.

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Recycling in rural Alaska can be an expensive logistical endeavor. And as recyclable material makes its way to local landfills, some electronics can threaten groundwater supplies. As part of our ongoing series on recycling across the state, KDLG’s Dave Bendinger looks at one Naknek resident’s effort to establish an economically viable means to recycle electronics in Bristol Bay.

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Shell Oil officials are hoping to begin exploratory drilling in the Chukchi Sea this summer, searching for off shore oil and gas. Environmental organizations have filed suit throughout the permitting process, claiming not enough is known about the fragile arctic ecosystem. But Shell leaders say there is a substantial amount of science from numerous sources that has been compiled over at least four decades. Michael Macrander is the lead scientist for Shell Arctic research. Shell is using acoustic monitoring to better understand how whales respond to noise. This is a sample of the whale calls they’ve recorded.

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Another weak king salmon return is forecast for the Yukon River. Alaska Department of Fish and Game Yukon area management biologist Steve Hayes says this summer’s Chinook run is predicted to be up to 146,000 fish, in line with weak runs since 1997.

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Like clockwork, the ominous signs show up every May: “Danger Nesting Eagles.” They’re placed near Unalaska’s clinic and post offices, and they feature a silhouette of a bird extending its talons toward a terrified human being.

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An earthquake struck Anchorage this morning just as many residents were beginning their day. The 4.7 magnitude quake shook the city at 7:03 a.m.. There were no reports of damage, but the earthquake was centered right in town, so it felt very strong to most residents.

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The FBI is asking for help in locating the gun they believe was used to murder Petty Officer 1st Class James Hopkins and retired Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Richard Belisle last month at the Coast Guard Communications Station.

Wednesday, the Anchorage Municipal Clerk’s office began a recount of their recount of ballots cast in the Municipal Election. A group of voters requested a recount earlier this month after multiple reports of problems with the election. But some are now concerned that the counting isn’t being done right.

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A leader of the coastal management initiative says fundraising so far has been slow. The initiative on the August ballot would re-establish a coastal management program in Alaska. The program lets states put conditions on certain activities on federal lands and waters.

Seismologists say an earthquake that struck in Alaska near Anchorage was widely felt in the city and other communities. The Alaska Earthquake Information Center says the 4.6 magnitude quake occurred at 7:02 a.m. Wednesday. It struck eight miles south of Anchorage.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has personally intervened in the Air Force’s F-22 fighter jet problem. He has ordered flight restrictions that will keep the planes close to their bases and he has sent other fighters to Alaska to deal with longer distance maneuvers.

Two Alaska-based military policemen died in Afghanistan when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb. U.S. Army Alaska officials identified the victims as Sgt. Brian L. Walker of Lucerne Valley, Calif., and Pfc. Richard L. McNulty III of Rolla, Mo.

Breakup has been harder on the Lower Kuskokwim than the Upper River this year. Fifteen miles upriver of Bethel, the village of Kwethluk is flooding in all low lying areas. It has been for a few days now. Thirty-one elderly and chronic care patients were evacuated to Bethel before waters closed off the airport road.

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Activists in Washington, D.C. are urging President Barack Obama to stop Shell Oil from drilling exploratory wells in the Arctic Ocean this summer. They organized a small protest at the White House Tuesday.

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