Liz Ruskin, Alaska Public Media
Liz Ruskin is the Washington, D.C., correspondent at Alaska Public Media. Reach her at lruskin@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Liz here.
For one brief day, women run the U.S. Senate
In Washington, the side streets of Capitol Hill look suitable for running the Iditarod. But the U.S. Senate did meet this morning. For all of 10 minutes. Only the female senators from two northern states participated.
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Senate to take up energy modernization bill
The big snow storm that struck the East Coast over the weekend has delayed the start of Congress’s work week. But when the Senate returns, it will take up one of Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s biggest priorities: an energy modernization bill. Murkowski says the energy world has changed a lot since 2007, when the last such bill passed Congress.
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Murkowski sees departures, promotions of top staff
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski today announced a slew of staff changes. Current and former employees say the timing of the multiple departures is coincidental. For those of you keeping score at home, sharpen your pencils: We'll take it from the top.
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The name is ‘Pollock.’ Just ‘Pollock’
It’s official: The fish formerly known as “Alaska Pollock” now goes by a single name. It’s just called “pollock” now.
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Top Army nominee says he’s not keen to cut Alaska troops
When Pentagon nominees comes before the Senate Armed Services Committee for a confirmation hearing, it’s a sure bet that Sen. Dan Sullivan will press them to rethink the announced cuts to JBER's 4-25th. Eric Fanning, nominated for Army secretary, offered little resistance.
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Supreme Court hears Alaska hovercraft case
The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court debated Wednesday morning whether the Park Service can impose its rules on rivers that flow through Alaska’s national parks and preserves.
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Supreme Court hears case challenging NPS authority
The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments Wednesday morning in a case challenging the National Park Service’s authority to ban hovercraft in Alaska’s federal parks and preserves.
Market experts: Oil could go lower but prices will rebound
Crude prices may continue their slide, but a top government energy economist predicts the price will rise to $40 a barrel by the end of this year, and to $50 a barrel by the end of next year. Possibly.
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State, Native interests also ride on hovercraft case in Supreme Court
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday will hear an Alaska case challenging the National Park Service's authority to ban hovercraft on navigable rivers. But the case has alarmed people with no interest in hovercraft, and it splits Alaska Native stakeholders.
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Obama’s energy remark baffles Alaska senators
In his State of the Union address Tuesday night, President Obama never mentioned Alaska or the Arctic, but he took a few shots at the oil industry. Obama says it’s time to accelerate the move away from “dirtier” energy.
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IG clears EPA of bias on Pebble but finds fault with staffer
The EPA's inspector general has concluded the EPA did not treat the Pebble project unfairly when it issued a controversial document detrimental to the mine.
Murkowski: FDA confirmation hinges on GE salmon labeling
The Food and Drug Administration has already declared genetically engineered salmon safe for human consumption, but Sen. Lisa Murkowski said Tuesday she’ll block confirmation of a new FDA commissioner until the agency agrees to require labeling for GE salmon.
White House invites Alaskan to State of Union
Lydia Doza got a text message she nearly ignored. It led to a special White House invitation to honor her efforts inspiring Native American youth to choose STEM careers.
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FWS proposes tighter rules on predator hunting in refuges
The state of Alaska has, in recent years, loosened the rules for hunting wolves and bears, but federal wildlife managers aren’t going along with it. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today proposed new rules for predator hunting on national refuges in Alaska.
Autopsy yields nil on pregnant soldier’s death
A special state investigator for the Guard scandal flagged Michelle Clark's death as warranting further review. But with a toxicology report that found nothing and a tight-lipped police department, the pregnant soldier's family feels there's been no justice for Michelle.
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Family suspects Guard scandal at play in pregnant soldier’s death
For many Alaskans, the scandal at the Alaska National Guard is long over. But nothing is resolved for the family mourning Michelle LaRose Clark, a guardsman who died in 2011, of unknown causes. Clark's family, and a retired officer, can't let go of the idea that her death is related to what she knew about crime within the Guard.
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Obama frees 2 Alaskan inmates
Two Alaskans are among dozens of federal inmates who will be freed decades early, the White House announced. President Obama has commuted the sentences of Alex Contreras of Anchorage and Raymond Allen Thomas of Fairbanks.
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Alaska delegation splits on US budget bill
Congress has finished its work for the year with a $1.8 trillion spending bill, which president Obama quickly signed. The package drew a mixed response from Alaska’s delegation.
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Spending bill includes rider on GMO salmon labeling
A bill poised to pass the U.S. Congress would require the FDA to produce labeling guidelines before it allows the sale of genetically engineered salmon.
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Young defends right to arms for people on ‘no-fly’ list
Alaska Congressman Don Young doesn’t think much of the proposal to bar people on the no-fly list from buying guns. "And I will fight until my dying breath," he pledged, "to make sure that we ... retain the Second Amendment.”
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