Free Republic

Stacey Abrams is running a less-than-subtle campaign to be Joe Biden’s vice-presidential running mate. Republicans should hope she succeeds. If selected, she would displace Sarah Palin as the least-qualified person ever to serve on a major-party ticket. Biden should understand this, because he saw firsthand how much damage Palin’s selection did to then-Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the Republican presidential nominee in 2008. Preelection polls showed that 6 out of 10 Americans said Palin was not qualified for the job, and a Stanford University study found that she cost McCain more than 2 million votes.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced Tuesday evening that Alaska will be fully open for business effective at 8 a.m. Friday as the state simultaneously enters phases 3 and 4 of its reopening plan. Under the third and fourth phases of the plan, all businesses, houses of worship, libraries and museums, and all recreational and sports activities will be open and able to operate at 100 percent capacity.

The Senate failed Thursday to override President Donald Trump’s veto of a bill that would curb his ability to take military action against Iran. The Senate came up short of the two-thirds majority, and it voted 49-44, with seven GOP senators joining Democrats. Seven Republicans broke with Trump: Sens. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Mike Lee of Utah, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Todd Young of Indiana, and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) joined Democrats in February to pass the bill, but he did not vote Thursday. Trump on Wednesday night,...

-- From Alaska to Washington State and British Columbia in Canada, ports in the Pacific Northwest are facing significant financial challenges as the already-short Alaska cruise season confronts delays and cancellations from the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Coupled with restrictions on cruising brought on by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the temporary suspension of cruises from Canadian ports of call until July 1, Alaska stands to lose two decades' worth of passenger growth overnight.Alaska will feel the effects statewide. Westmark Hotels, which operates properties throughout Alaska and the Yukon and caters largely to cruise tour passengers,...

MADISON – Aaron Rodgers has faced some of the most ferocious defensive linemen the National Football League has ever unleashed on professional football fields. The Green Bay Packers quarterback has passed his way to the top of his game, becoming among the most accurate, respected and highest paid players in NFL history. Now, Rodgers is taking on a much more brutal enemy: The murderous warlords of the Democratic Republic of Congo in command of a civil conflict that has claimed more than 3 million lives. Green Bay’s QB has signed up as a celebrity front man for Raise Hope for...

Democratic leaders are making quite a name for themselves during the COVID-19 pandemic. Vote for one, and everyday Americans will find themselves disappointed. Especially when a crisis comes knocking. Eight years of former President Barack Obama (body by Esquire and mind by Baby Einstein), taught us that Ivy League educations and sounding smart mean nothing – if you lack common sense and logic. If Obama's years showed us anything, it is that power is always Democrats' end game. They will lie, cheat, and seek advantage during a crisis to get what they want. Never let a crisis go to waste!...

Its happening here in the USA the arrest of a mother who asked questions when confronted by police enforcing de facto martial law related to the coronavirus.... The price of oil today with the West Texas Intermediate price at 14.23 a barrel by 530 pm Eastern US time..... The meat supply in the United States being impacted by the coronavirus. The US Department of Agriculture reporting beef production down 20 percent for this month compared to April of last year..... Another example of a food processing facility affected by coronavirus is in Alabama where at least 75 cases have been...

Joe Biden has won the Alaska Democrats' party-run presidential primary, beating Sen. Bernie Sanders days after Sanders suspended his campaign. Biden gets 11 delegates and Sanders gets four. Sanders would have won more delegates but after ending his bid for the nomination last week, Sanders is no longer eligible to win delegates based on the statewide vote in primaries and caucuses, according to Democratic National Committee rules. Sanders is, however, still eligible to win delegates based on vote totals in individual congressional districts, which is why the AP allocated four delegate to Sanders in Alaska. Overall, Biden has 1,228 delegates...

Rev. Franklin Graham’s charity is making sure Alaska residents have the supplies they need to fight the coronavirus. Tuesday on Facebook, Graham wrote that workers with Samaritan’s Purse had delivered more than eight tons of medical supplies to be distributed throughout rural Alaskan communities in the next few days:.... The supplies will be headed to rural AK to support our heroic health care workers. Thank you Franklin Graham & the Samaritan’s Purse team for your continuous service and help to Alaska! #FlattenTheCurve pic.twitter.com/ay0hA53IUp— Governor Mike Dunleavy (@GovDunleavy) April 7, 2020 ....As of Tuesday morning, the total number of coronavirus...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - An oil exploration firm has discovered a deposit of potentially 1.8 billion barrels in Alaska's North Slope region south of Prudhoe Bay, the company said. Pantheon Resources PLC said it located the deposit along the Dalton Highway and Trans-Alaska Pipeline System corridor, The Alaska Journal of Commerce reported Wednesday. The London-based company made an updated evaluation of an old exploration well and used information gleaned from recent nearby drilling, officials said. The prospect, called Talitha, could be the latest in a series of big North Slope oil discoveries over the past five years.

Add Alaska to the list of states where the governor has banned abortions along with, other non-essential medical procedures, to help fight the coronavirus by conserving medical supplies. Governor Mike Dunleavy is asking that all health care facilities postpone all surgeries and procedures that are not medically necessary during the current COVID-19 pandemic. In his statement the Governor said that the order stop non-essential medical procedures includes abortions. “Healthcare providers are to postpone surgical abortion procedures unless the life or physical health of the mother is endangered by continuation of the pregnancy during the period of postponement,” the order reads....

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Emmitt Peters, Sr., the 1975 Iditarod Champion know as the "Yukon Fox," passed away Thursday in Ruby. He was 79 years old. Peters won the Last Great Race on Earth in 1975 as an Iditarod rookie, the most recent first-time racer to do so. He would not win a second title, but finished in third in 1978 and took the runner-up position in 1979. Along with his race crown, Peters' Iditarod accolades were numerous. After becoming champion and Rookie of the Year at the same time in 1975, he would go on to win the Golden...

JUNEAU — Alaska’s largest public-employee union has sued the state in Superior Court, alleging it has failed to properly protect workers from the coronavirus pandemic. State workers have grown increasingly vocal in the past week, saying the administration of Gov. Mike Dunleavy is putting them in danger by keeping offices open while ordering private businesses to close. The governor has said he views the work of government employees as vital to society and civilization. The Alaska State Employees Association’s lawsuit, filed on behalf of 7,900 members, states in part that “the state is failing to provide a safe environment for...

Sen. Bernie Sanders (D.-Vt.) says on the website for his presidential campaign that “[c]limate change is a global emergency” and “the Arctic is on fire.” By contrast, the National Weather Service is reporting today that it is 45 degrees below zero in Nuiqsuit, which is in northern Alaska. The weather service is predicting that the high today in that part of Alaska will be 44 degrees below zero and the low will be 47 degrees below zero. “Climate change is a global emergency. The Amazon rainforest is burning, Greenland’s ice shelf is melting, and the Arctic is on fire,” Sanders...

The social distancing rules repeated like a mantra in America’s urban centers, where the coronavirus is spreading exponentially, might seem silly in wide-open places where neighbors live miles apart and “working from home” means another day spent branding calves or driving a tractor alone through a field. But as the pandemic spreads through the U.S., those living in rural areas, too, are increasingly threatened. Tiny towns tucked into Oregon’s windswept plains and cattle ranches miles from anywhere in South Dakota might not have had a single case of the new coronavirus, but their main streets are also empty and their...

“In Southeast Alaska communities, salmon head soup is an important part of our gift economy.”We heat up a couple quarts of water in a large pot, add an onion and a salmon head and boil until the soup turns white. In my family, we drink this for medicine. This is Hoonah elder Mamie Williams’ recipe for salmon head broth, commonly used in Tlingit culture to combat and prevent the flu. Many Hoonah residents use this recipe to prevent flu and to lessen their flu symptoms. Salmon head soup is a good food during the cold and flu season because of...

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has no intention of dropping out of the race for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, and as the July convention draws closer, his decision to keep his campaign alive may mean chaos for the Democratic party. Five more states have suspended their Democratic primaries amid concerns about coronavirus, and it may soon be impossible for any candidate to win a majority of delegates. The New York Times reports that Indiana, Connecticut, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Maryland have now joined Ohio in postponing their presidential contests, leaving the future of the Democratic presidential nomination uncertain. Ohio, of...

We believe the time to shut down any non-essential out-of-state travel is now. We also believe restrictions on in-state travel, especially to remote communities, should be considered. In the past few days, Alaska has started to see multiple positive tests for coronavirus. All were related to out-of-state travel. Most were related to travel to the Lower 48. With a large influx of state residents returning from spring break, we will see many more positive tests in the next week, and soon — if not already — experience significant community spread. The state of Alaska has taken appropriate measures, closing bars,...

ANCHORAGE (KTUU) - Veteran Iditarod musher Nicolas Petit has scratched from the 2020 Iditarod. Petit scratched at 5:20 a.m. Thursday between the Elim and White Mountain checkpoints. Iditarod officials say a mix of “weather and resulting trail conditions, Petit was not able to continue, and by activating his SOS, Petit scratched.” Golovin Search and Rescue helped Petit to the shelter cabin located between Elim and White Mountain. Race marshal Mark Nordman spoke with Petit by satellite phone and confirmed that he and his race team are fine. As soon as the weather clears, Petit and his team will travel to...

Here are the rankings: 1 Thomas Waerner - Total race time: 9d 10h 37m 47s 2 Mitch Seavey - Total race time: 9d 16h 15m 38s 3 Jessie Royer - Total race time: 9d 17h 47m 16s 4 Brent Sass - Total race time: 9d 18h 57m 47s 5 Aaron Burmeister- Total race time: 9d 19h 18m 53s 6 Joar Leifseth Ulsom - Total race time: 9d 19h 48m 41s 7 Paige Drobny- Total race time: 9d 19h 54m 35s 8 Ryan Redington - Total race time: 9d 20h 40m 58s 9 Jessie Holmes - Total race time: 9d 21h...