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The son of former US vice president candidate Sarah Palin did not start a booze-fuelled 20-man melee at an Anchorage house party as previously reported, it has been claimed. Members of the Palin family allegedly became embroiled in a brawl at a friend's home on 6 September. Early reports claimed that after arriving at the party in a stretch Hummer limousine, the former Governor of Alaska's son Track confronted a former boyfriend of his 20-year-old sister, Willow. A fight then broke out involving about 20 people, leaving Track with broken ribs and father Todd with a bloodied nose. Amid the...

These pictures were emailed to me by a friend, I don't know where it is but I wish I was there with a good rifle. I love venison, don't you?

This is an email I received from a good friend in New York City. She is a Bryn Mawr graduate, and is a physician currently engaged in cancer research at Columbia University. This is an email she received from a Bryn Mawr classmate of hers who lives in Alaska. Because you, like me, may never have heard of Sarah Palin until today, you may find this an interesting perspective from an Alaskan resident. B Begin forwarded message: Subject: just in from Bonnie's classmate Dear classmates - As an Alaskan, I am writing to give all of you some information on...

Snowmobiles in Parks To the Editor: Bolstered by science and invoking fundamental conservation values that American citizens expect the stewards of our national parks to uphold.....

Billings, Mont. -- Most elk, bison and trumpeter swans are unfazed by the presence of snowmobiles in Yellowstone National Park, a new study suggests. Researchers from the park and Montana State University observed more than 2,100 interactions between snowmobiles and wildlife last winter. In 81 percent of the interactions, the animals either had no apparent response, or they looked and then resumed what they were doing, the study said. The study, commissioned by the National Park Service and conducted between December 2004 and March 2005, is one of several that park officials say they will take into account as they...

Before climbing aboard a snowmobile Up North for a drive through the countryside, remember that there are laws and rules regulating the snow machines in Michigan.Snowmobile and travel officials also note that drivers and their passengers should dress properly and have emergency kits to help them deal with the weather and the most common mechanical problems.Recommended but not legally required are a tool kit for minor repairs, flashlight with extra batteries and bulbs, a space-saving, heat-reflecting blanket, a first aid kit and matches, candles and fire-startersWhen it comes to snowmobile laws, the first thing to remember is that every law...

Environmental groups have filed a lawsuit over the National Park Service's plan for allowing snowmobiles in Yellowstone National Park for the next three winters. The environmentalists claim the government failed to take into account the effect that trails groomed for snowmobiles have on wildlife, particularly bison that travel the roads during the winter. The lawsuit was filed last week in federal court in Washington, D.C., after the Park Service issued a "finding of no significant impact" for its winter snowmobile plans, an attorney said. The environmental groups are asking the judge to prevent officials from implementing the plan and to...

It's obvious that the Kerry campaign has seen the recent polling numbers coming from Minnesota. As the president's prospects for winning this state's 10 electoral votes get better and better, the Democratic ticket is pandering like never before. Although we thought it couldn't get any worse, it has. Last Tuesday, Sen. John Edwards told folks in Hibbing that he and Sen. John Kerry would fight for their right to "go in the national parks and national forests and ride on a snowmobile." Although I agree with what Edwards said, this, according to his own campaign's Web site, is not a...

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) -- A federal judge on Friday struck down a ban on snowmobiles in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, calling it a "prejudged, political" move that sought to exclude the vehicles from all national parks. U.S. District Judge Clarence Brimmer ruled that the Clinton-era ban was invalid because it did not involve adequate public participation and failed to follow federal law. His decision could clear the way for new rules that allow the machines. The rule was "the product of a prejudged, political decision to ban snowmobiles from all the national parks," Brimmer wrote. The National Park...

Now that this year's tumultuous snowmobile season is over at Yellowstone Park, how would you like to see the issue handled next winter? No snowmobiles should be allowed in Yellowstone. 474 Votes - 14% A limited number of snowmobiles, around 490 per day as was the Clinton administration plan, should be allowed in the park. 106 Votes - 3% A higher number of snowmobiles, around 950 per day as per the Bush administration plan, should be allowed in the park. 187 Votes - 5% No limits should be placed on the number of snowmobiles allowed inside the park. 2464 Votes...

An already confusing winter for snowmobilers in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks got even more complicated when a federal judge blocked severe restrictions on the use of the machines enacted just as the season began. The move was cheered Tuesday by Gov. Dave Freudenthal and the businesses that rely on renting snowmobiles to visitors, but jeered by environmentalists, who fear an increase in pollution, noise and damage. U.S. District Judge Clarence Brimmer in Wyoming issued a temporary restraining order Tuesday against the Clinton-era restrictions and ordered the National Park Service to develop temporary rules for the rest of the...

Yellowstone Snowmobile Ban Leaves Working Families in the Cold 1/28/04 11:23:00 AM To: National Desk Contact: Brian Kennedy or Nicol Andrews, 202-226-9019, both of the House Resources Committee WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The Wyoming Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources testified before a federal judge Monday that, "a ban on snowmobiles (in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks) would cost Wyoming 938 jobs and $11.8 million in lost labor income a year." For Wyoming, a state with less than 500,000 people (2000, U.S. Census Bureau), the loss of 938 jobs has a tremendous impact on the...

Wyoming judge rails at counterpart in Yellowstone case By ROBERT W. BLACK Associated Press Writer CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - A federal district judge from Wyoming railed at a counterpart in the nation's capital Friday for seizing jurisdiction in a dispute over whether snowmobiles should be banned from Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks. ''I don't see any reason why a judge 2,000 miles from here ought to be deciding things that affect the people of Wyoming,'' U.S. District Judge Clarence Brimmer said of a ruling last month by U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan in Washington, D.C. Sullivan ordered a phase-out...

The movie reaches just a little further than we expect with the addition of characters such as Nigel Thornberry's parents (his mother is not amused to find worms in her tea) and the poachers Bree and Sloan Blackburn (Marisa Tomei and Rupert Everett), who are not simply villains willing to exterminate hundreds of elephants, but so unashamed about it that their attitude is scarier than their actions. Will such people stop at nothing? Next thing you know, they'll be permitting snowmobiles in our national parks.

WASHINGTON (November 11, 2002 5:58 p.m. EST) - Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines. The Bush administration plans to allow more snowmobiles in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks on average, while cutting numbers on the busiest days. The decision reverses one taken during the Clinton presidency that would have banned them by next winter. There would be no limits on snowmobiles for the winter season beginning next month and running until mid-March, Interior Department officials said. But starting in December 2003, no more than 1,100 snowmobiles a day would be allowed in the two popular Western parks together and...

The Environmental Protection Agency has, for the first time, established pollution standards for "non-road engines," including snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles, officials of the agency said Monday. The new rules were created especially to deal with the pollution produced at national parks like Yellowstone and Grand Teton. They are an alternative to a ban on snowmobiling. In all, 32 million vehicles will be affected each year by the new rules, the EPA said, resulting in a reduction of tons of hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide from the air we breathe. "If left unregulated, pollution from these sources will continue to...