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A man stands before the smoky New York City skyline and East River in Brooklyn on Tuesday. (Ed Jones/AFP Via Getty Images) Millions of people along the East Coast and further inland woke up to a cloud of hazy air Wednesday morning, after smoke from rampant wildfires in Canada floated south across the border and…

Gator, a very talkative bear cub from Hood Bay, asks around if someone has snacks. Monday, June 5, 2023. (Matt Faubion/Alaska Public Media) Stories are posted on the statewide news page. Send news tips, questions, and comments to news@alaskapublic.org. Follow Alaska Public Media on Facebook and on Twitter @AKPublicNews. And subscribe to the Alaska News Nightly podcast. Tuesday on Alaska…

An Alaska State Trooper hat (File/Alaska Public Media) An Anchorage man stands accused of killing his passenger in a head-on collision on the Seward Highway last summer, during which prosecutors say he was impaired by marijuana. Lester Wilde Jr., 47, faces one count each of manslaughter and driving under the influence, plus three counts of…

Gator, a very talkative bear cub from Hood Bay, asks for snacks. Monday, June 5, 2023. (Matt Faubion/Alaska Public Media) The Alaska Zoo is nearly at capacity for housing orphaned animals. In late May, the zoo welcomed a very talkative brown bear cub nicknamed Gator from Hood Bay, near Angoon. Six moose calves followed soon…

A sign in Cuddy Family Midtown Park lays out prohibited behaviors, including camping and having alcohol, near some campers drinking on the morning of May 24, 2023. (Jeremy Hsieh/Alaska Public Media) Stories are posted on the statewide news page. Send news tips, questions, and comments to news@alaskapublic.org. Follow Alaska Public Media on Facebook and on Twitter @AKPublicNews. And subscribe to…

The Wilderness Discoverer sailing in November 2022 (Photo Courtesy of UnCruise Adventures) Nearly 70 passengers were evacuated from a small cruise ship on Monday morning after an engine room fire disabled UnCruise’s Wilderness Discoverer in Glacier Bay. The fire was reported to the U.S. Coast Guard around 7:30 a.m. “By the time we got there,…

High schoolers Leena Edais (left) and Roey Armstrong (right) are peer educators with RurAL CAP, teaching other young people what they’ve learned about nicotine and addiction. In a small conference room in downtown Anchorage, 17-year-old Roey Armstrong gathered 15 other teens and tweens into a circle, so everyone could introduce themselves. They shared their names,…

A small group of Anchorage Assembly members and the news media gather for a press conference outside Anchorage City Hall on April 19, 2023. (Jeremy Hsieh/Alaska Public Media) The Anchorage Assembly is set to take up a potential legal settlement with a local construction company. It’ll be the Assembly’s third decision in two weeks on…

A male opossum captured near Homer City Hall on Thursday. Biologists say it’s a descendant of Grubby, a female opossum captured the month before by Homer police. (Jason Herreman/ADFG) It turns out that Grubby the opossum — who hitched a ride to Alaska in a shipping container in March — had babies. State biologists say…

A small group of Anchorage Assembly members and the news media gather for a press conference outside Anchorage City Hall on April 19, 2023. (Jeremy Hsieh/Alaska Public Media) Federal investigators are looking into the business dealings of an Anchorage woman whose charity the city gave $1.6 million during the coronavirus pandemic to help people experiencing…

(Hannah Lies/Alaska Public Media) A state regulatory agency has fined Hilcorp $267,000 for making unauthorized equipment changes at Milne Point, one of its North Slope oil fields. The Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission order says that Hilcorp’s drilling permit for a well called I-27 allowed for the use of an electrical submersible pump. An…

The Cook Inlet Natural Gas Storage Alaska facility was built the last time there were warnings about potential shortages. (Sabine Poux/KDLL) Alaskans who rely on natural gas are on the verge of a shortage, as Hilcorp, the one big producer in Cook Inlet is running out of easily accessible gas and warns it might not…

Cargolux Airlines International S.A., a Luxembourg cargo carrier, deplanes at Ted Stevens International Airport on May 16, 2023. (Mizelle Mayo/Alaska Public Media) To explain why Anchorage International Airport gets so much cargo traffic, Airport Director Craig Campbell picked up a decorative globe he keeps on his desk. He pointed to the major exporters in Asia,…

A sign in Cuddy Family Midtown Park lays out prohibited behaviors, including camping and having alcohol, near some campers drinking on the morning of May 24, 2023. (Jeremy Hsieh/Alaska Public Media) Creating and managing five sanctioned sites across Anchorage for people without homes to camp in isn’t practical this summer, according to several Assembly members…

Sen. Dan Sullivan in Anchorage in July 2021. (Jeff Chen/Alaska Public Media) Stories are posted on the statewide news page. Send news tips, questions, and comments to news@alaskapublic.org. Follow Alaska Public Media on Facebook and on Twitter @AKPublicNews. And subscribe to the Alaska News Nightly podcast. Thursday on Alaska News Nightly: Sen. Dan Sullivan argues for more military spending amid…

The University of Alaska Fairbanks. (Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon) Gov. Mike Dunleavy has appointed Tuckerman Babcock, a longtime Republican and former aide, to the University of Alaska Board of Regents. Babcock, together with the governor, orchestrated an illegal loyalty pledge scheme, a federal judge ruled two years ago. The governor’s office announced Babcock’s appointment late Wednesday after…

Iditarod Elementary School (Courtesy of Mat-Su School District) A former Wasilla teacher who admitted to sexually abusing 11 children has been sentenced to more than four decades behind bars. Lukis Nighswonger, 40, taught third and fourth grade and was an athletics coach at Iditarod Elementary School. He received the BP Teacher of Excellence award in…

A U.S. Coast Guard HH60 Jayhawk helicopter flies over Juneau in 2021. Coast Guard aircrews and boat crews have been involved in the search for the missing boaters near Sitka. (Mikko Wilson/KTOO) Two vacationing couples — including sisters — and a fishing boat captain were on a charter boat found partially submerged off Southeast Alaska…

Siikauraq Martha Whiting ice fishing for sheefish. (Katrina Liebich/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) Lance Kramer describes himself as an avid outdoorsman. The 52-year old loves traditional methods of hunting, fishing and trapping. His home is right next to the ice where many Kotzebue residents fish for sheefish. It gives him a bird’s-eye view to gauge…