Free Republic

A small cruise ship operating in Southeast Alaska made an unexpected detour on Monday night to help a 21-foot skiff that ran out of fuel between Petersburg and Juneau. Michael Love, a software developer from New York City, was a passenger aboard the cruise ship and described the event on social media. What got his attention the most wasn’t the rescue itself — it was when the captain announced that the yacht of billionaire Facebook owner Mark Zuckerberg was closer and hadn’t answered the radio call for help. “There was near unanimous booing when the captain announced this,” he said...

Tech billionaire Elon Musk has given $1.5 million to a group supporting the repeal of Alaska’s voting system, according to a report filed with the state Friday. Ballot Measure 2, which will appear on the November ballot, seeks to repeal Alaska’s ranked choice voting method, along with open primaries and campaign finance laws that were themselves adopted by ballot measure in 2020.

An attorney defending the Alaska Division of Elections against a lawsuit argued in state court Friday that candidates for state office are not obliged to disclose their finances when they file for office. If that argument is upheld in court, it would upend existing practices and could end voters’ ability to examine political candidates’ personal finances in the early stages of a primary election. The lawsuit in court on Friday was filed by the Alaska Democratic Party, which is challenging the eligibility of Jose Roel Tagle to run for Alaska House District 22. Tagle, a Republican, is the only challenger...

Ranked choice voting (RCV) fits within the Democratic Party’s presidential delegate selection rules, including proportional delegate allocation and the 15% “threshold.” Ranked choice voting can be used to select multiple winners, and is not inherently a majority-winner or winner-take-all system. As the Democratic National Committee and states consider how RCV might be used in the 2028 presidential primaries, this post explains how votes could be counted and delegates awarded. How are votes counted and delegates awarded in Democratic presidential primaries in general? Democratic Party rules require that candidates receive at least 15% of the vote in a state to earn...

Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said Friday she will vote against Todd Blanche’s nomination to be attorney general, narrowing his chances at Senate confirmation for the role. With Sen. Mitch McConnell absent and all Democrats expected to vote against the confirmation, Blanche cannot afford to lose any more Republican votes. The nomination now hinges on how Sen. Bill Cassidy, one of the most prominent GOP critics of President Donald Trump, will vote. Maine Sen. Susan Collins, who’s facing a competitive reelection, has already announced she’ll vote against Blanche.

Democratic Senate contenders are dramatically out-raising their Republican peers, according to Federal Election Commission data — with Georgia’s Jon Ossoff and James Talarico in Texas leading the pack. Eight of the top 10 Senate candidate fundraiser this year are Democrats, whose top contestants have raked in $574 million, compared to the Republicans’ $336 million, per the FEC. Incumbent Sen. Ossoff (D-Ga.) is the biggest fundraiser on both sides, having raked in a jaw-dropping $77 million as of June 30, and has a staggering $42.5 million in cash on hand. He’s raised nearly $98 million as a Senate candidate, including the...

In January, 2012, Glenn Villeneuve was attacked by a pack of 20 wolves. It was a very unusual event. Villeneuvea detailed the event, including pictures of the extremely large pack. He gave an extensive interview to Joe Rogan. Villeneuve has been one of the stars of the reality show, Life Below Zero. The attack event is discussed starting at 13:30 on the video. Villeneuve explains he never expected such an attack to happen. It was far outside many years of experience dealing with wolves. He does not know why the wolves came after him that day. They had never been...

Due to a key vote by U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, the one-year ban on federal funding for Planned Parenthood expired on July 4, meaning the abortion giant can resume consuming hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars through Medicaid reimbursements for non-abortion-related services. Without this funding, the entity has struggled to keep its nationwide network of abortion clinics operational. While Murkowski continues to identify as a Republican, she has long supported federal funding for Planned Parenthood and regularly joins Democrats in efforts to ensure the abortion business benefits from taxpayer dollars. Last year, pro-life advocates celebrated when the Republican-controlled Congress narrowly...

Another norovirus outbreak has struck a Princess Cruises vessel, turning what should have been a dream Alaskan adventure into a grim reminder of how quickly order can dissolve into chaos even in the most controlled environments. The Ruby Princess, departing San Francisco on June 12 for a 20-day voyage, saw more than 100 passengers and 20 crew members felled by the highly contagious stomach virus before limping back to port on July 2. Passenger Peter Korer, a seasoned cruiser from Las Vegas with over 40 voyages under his belt, described the ship as a “floating Petri dish.” This was his...

The Coast Guard said no fatalities have been reported, and all crew members from Coast Guard Air Station Sitka have been transported to Mt. Edgecumbe Medical Center. The United States Coast Guard confirmed Monday that an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter has crashed in Sitka, Alaska, during a training flight with four people on board. The Coast Guard said no fatalities have been reported, and all crew members from Coast Guard Air Station Sitka have been transported to Mt. Edgecumbe Medical Center. The cause of the crash, which occurred Monday morning, is currently under investigation. "The safety, well-being, and rescue of our...

In 2007, Inuit whalers in Alaska made a surprising discovery. In the carcass of a whale, they found fragments of a weapon embedded in its flesh – but this wasn’t a modern piece of equipment. The harpoon was traced back to the 1900s, and after investigation, scientists estimated that the whale itself was around 115 years old, if not older. Bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) were severely affected by the introduction of widespread commercial whaling that saw their numbers plummet to fewer than 3,000 members. It was effectively ended by 1921, a move that has seen the population grow to between...

The Alaska Division of Elections has preliminarily determined that Dan J. Sullivan from Petersburg is not eligible to run for office, following a probe into allegations from Republicans that he is attempting to rig the election to draw votes from the U.S. senator of the same name. “Based on a review of the evidence presented and in the Division’s possession, the Division has determined that the preponderance of evidence does not support your eligibility for the office of United States Senator,” Carol Beecher, director of the Division of Elections, said in a letter to Dan J. Sullivan on Wednesday.

Six Republicans joined with Democrats on Thursday to support a measure that would block the construction of President Donald Trump's planned White House ballroom. The measure needed 60 votes to pass and came as part of a string of amendment votes ahead of the main vote on a reconciliation bill to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol. The final vote was 52-47 in favor, with GOP Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, John Husted of Ohio, Jerry Moran of Kansas, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Dan Sullivan of Alaska, and Thom Tillis of North Carolina voting to block construction,...

The Trump administration on Friday auctioned off rights to drill in a pristine wildlife refuge in Alaska, but the lease sale attracted only two bidders on a few tracts of land. Of the about 60 tracts of land opened up for leasing by the Trump administration, only five received bids.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy said the country and the U.S. will sign an agreement to design an underwater tunnel connecting Russia’s Chukotka region to Alaska across the Bering Strait. Kirill Dmitriev, who is also head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, made the announcement Thursday at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. “As regards, the tunnel, we have a piece of news for tomorrow that we will continue tunnel engineering. The tunnel will take place,” he told Russian TV channel Zvezda, according to a translation by state-owned news agency TASS. He added that this will be one of...

The Senate on Thursday voted on a proposal to block the construction of President Trump’s 90,000 square foot ballroom.The proposal, which needed 60 votes, failed 52-47.However, SIX Republican Senators voted with the Democrats to block the construction of the ballroom: Collins, Husted, Moran, Murkowski, Sullivan and Tillis.The proposal was introduced by Democrat Senator Jeff Merkley during Thursday’s vote-a-rama.

Four Senate Republicans broke ranks to kill another effort to pass President Donald Trump's marquee voter ID and election integrity legislation as the GOP marches to fund immigration enforcement. Just like last time, Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Thom Tills, R-N.C., joined all Democrats to thwart the move. It’s the second attempt by Republicans to attach the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act to their budget reconciliation package, and the second time that they’ve failed to get the legislation across the line months after launching a quasi-floor takeover to debate the bill....

Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan’s re-election campaign is accusing one of his opponents in Alaska and Democrats in Washington of recruiting a candidate with the same first and last name: Dan Sullivan. “Mary Peltola and D.C. Democrats know they can’t win this race on the issues, so they’ve resorted to dirty, dishonest tactics — recruiting a sham candidate with the sole purpose of deceiving voters and manipulating Alaska’s election system,” Nate Adams, the senator’s campaign spokesman, said in a statement Tuesday.

FIRST ON FOX: Republicans are moving to block a political newcomer linked to Democrats who shares the name of Alaska's incumbent senator, arguing the candidate's long-shot bid could mislead voters in a closely watched Senate race. The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) sent a letter Monday to the Alaska Division of Elections and the state's lieutenant governor, demanding that "Dan J. Sullivan" — a former teacher with no relation to incumbent Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan — be struck from the ballot ahead of the August primary. "Alaska regulations provide that a candidate’s name may not appear on the ballot...

The National Park Service ‌reported that four climbers from a seven-member expedition suffered a fall on Wednesday in the vicinity of Denali Pass, located about 2,100 feet (640.1 metres) below the 20,310-foot summit of McKinley, North America's tallest peak. The ​survivor was rescued on Thursday from a mountain basin at 17,200 feet and ​later transferred to an air ambulance for transport to a hospital, the ⁠Park Service said. "Operations for the three remaining climbers have transitioned from a search and rescue ​mission to a recovery effort," the Park Service said in an online statement, adding the ​agency "does not release...