Top Stories

News stories, radio and TV episodes that warrant one of six spots on our homepage. The homepage is in chronological order of publication date, so stories are moved off the homepage as more are categorized “top stories.”

A wooden outdoor sign says "Denali National Park and Preserve"

Rise in COVID level prompts Denali National Park to require masks again

Everyone aged 2 and up must wear masks on buses and inside most park buildings starting Friday.
a stop sign at an intersection

Officials still assessing damage of wind-driven Interior wildfire

The wind-fueled growth of the Clear fire Wednesday prompted urgent calls for residents of a nearby subdivision that had been under a long-standing evacuation call to leave if they hadn’t already.

Despite federal warning, Alaska alcohol board says distilleries can keep selling kegged cocktails

Federal regulations limit the size of containers that a distillery can produce, but Alaska has no limits in law.
a person stands with a sign that reads "what? do we look like handmaidens?" in front of people at a rally

Abortion access advocates plan several Alaska rallies for Saturday

The rallies scheduled for Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau and Homer come after the Supreme Court overturned the landmark abortion case Roe v. Wade last month, ruling that there is no constitutional right to an abortion.
A family embraces a dog

Sitka family reunites with blind dog LuLu 3 weeks after she went missing

A construction crew found Lulu in salmonberry bushes after initially confusing her for a bear.

UAA chancellor says preventing Trump rally would be ‘illegal and unconstitutional’

Chancellor Sean Parnell and UAA’s student government emphasized that the university is not hosting the event, just renting out the arena.
dog jumps into the air after a toy his handler threw

Dozens of diving dogs test just how far they can jump in Palmer

Dogs and their owners took to the water for the 2022 Alaskan Diving Dogs Qualifier.
someone in gloves holds a ruler up to a bat

For the first time, a Juneau bat tested positive for rabies

Protocol for a suspicious bat is this: without touching it, you put it in a box and leave it overnight.
U.S. Senate candidate, Republican Kelly Tshibaka, pumps her fist in the air while standing next to former President Donald Trump, standing in front of a crowd

Trump rallies his Alaska faithful against Murkowski, for Tshibaka and Palin

Donald Trump fulfilled a pledge to punish Sen. Murkowski for her vote to impeach him.
a black and white photo of Alaska Native children sitting or standing in rows

Remains of Alutiiq girl taken from Kodiak more than 100 years ago will return to Old Harbor

According to records, Anastasia Ashouwak was taken from an orphanage on Woody Island in the Kodiak Archipelago and sent to the Carlisle Indian Industrial School after her mother died in 1901.
shopper walk around outside, a few in face masks

A new dominant omicron strain in the U.S. is driving up cases — and reinfections

BA.5 is now the dominant omicron strain in the U.S. It's good at evading the immune system, though doesn't appear to cause more serious illness.
A firefighter stands watch over a fire burning in trees near a structure

Rain in Interior Alaska has not been nearly enough to stop wildfires, officials say

Fire information officer Jose Acosta said the state set a red flag record on Sunday.
water erupts from a whale's blow hole in the ocean

US agency to study expanding critical habitat in Alaska for rare North Pacific right whales

The extended habitat would overlap with productive fishing areas and high-volume marine transit routes, NOAA Fisheries said, but it also coincides with visual sightings and acoustic data of the large whales.
two people stand looking over the water on a ship

Bar service returns to 2 Alaska ferries

Ferry managers were looking for ways to improve the travel experience, said a state transportation department spokesman.
mountains in space

NASA’s James Webb telescope captures groundbreaking images of distant galaxies

Thanks to the telescope's deep and sharp infrared images, Earthlings are getting a more detailed look at distant galaxies than was ever possible.
A man driving a forklift on a beach hauls out marine debris

Cleanup on remote Southeast Alaska island aids research into marine trash and microplastics

Nearly six tons of marine debris collected from a remote island were offloaded in Ketchikan last week.
a person in a piece of heavy equipment grinds and chops trees

Cooler, wetter weather helps Interior fires, but ‘it’s not a season-ending event,’ says official

“It is not a season-ending event," said fire information officer Jose Acosta. "This will cause a lull in fire activity that could easily pick up.”
two people grab fish out of net

Area M: the place in the sea where Alaska commercial and subsistence interests collide

In the wake of chum salmon crashes in Western Alaska, subsistence fishermen have been pleading with the state to restrict salmon fishing near the Aleutian Islands. Subsistence users say that commercial vessels are taking fish bound for their rivers.
three people post for a photo on a beach, one of them in waders is holding a salmon

‘We wait for this the entire fishing season’: Kenai opens to dipnetters

It’s still early for the city-run fishery. Popularity usually peaks mid-July.
a group of people on a fish wheel on a river on an overcast day

As Kuskokwim fishing lawsuit grows, lawyers say subsistence could be affected across Alaska

Attorneys from Ahtna Inc. believe state arguments may overturn Katie John precedent.