Latest Alaska News

Family: Sisters among 4 missing boaters after vessel found partially submerged in Alaska

May. 31, 2023 20:25 PM EDT

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Two vacationing couples — including sisters — and a fishing boat captain were on a charter boat found partially submerged off southeast Alaska over the weekend amid rough seas, family members said Wednesday. The 30-foot (9-meter) aluminum charter vessel...

Coast Guard suspends search for 4 missing after Alaska charter boat found partially submerged

May. 30, 2023 16:00 PM EDT

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended its search for four people missing after the fishing charter boat they were on was found partially submerged near the southeast Alaska community of Sitka. A fifth person was found dead Sunday. The search, which spanned more...

1 dead, 4 missing after fishing charter boat sinks near Sitka, Alaska

May. 29, 2023 19:36 PM EDT

SITKA, Alaska (AP) — The Coast Guard was searching Monday for four people who went missing after a fishing charter vessel was found partially submerged near Sitka. Coast Guard vessels began searching Sunday night after receiving a call from Kingfisher Charters, a Sitka-based...

'Mother Nature has no mercy': Man gets stuck waist-deep in Alaska mud flats, drowns as tide comes in

May. 24, 2023 17:23 PM EDT

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A man who was walking on tidal mud flats with friends in an Alaska estuary got stuck up to his waist in the quicksand-like silt and drowned as the tide came in before frantic rescuers could extract him, authorities said. Zachary Porter, 20, of Lake Bluff,...

'Leap of faith:' Alaska pursues carbon offset market while embracing oil

May. 23, 2023 17:27 PM EDT

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska's push to become a bigger player in the clean energy market is in the spotlight this week at a conference convened by its Republican governor, even as the state continues to embrace new fossil fuel production, including the controversial Willow oil project on the...

Erdogan wins endorsement for Turkish election runoff from third-place candidate Ogan

May. 22, 2023 12:08 PM EDT

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The third-placed contender in the Turkish presidential elections formally endorsed President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday for the second-round runoff vote to be held on May 28. The nationalist presidential candidate Sinan Ogan, 55, has emerged as a potential...

Park rangers rescue fallen climber at Alaska's Denali National Park

May. 21, 2023 02:24 AM EDT

TALKEETNA, Alaska (AP) — National Park Service rangers rescued a climber who fell from a 16,000-foot-high (4,800-meter-high) ridge at Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska, officials said Saturday. A mountaineering ranger evacuated the 24-year-old Japanese climber from a...

Alaska lawmakers pass budget, ending special session in one day

May. 19, 2023 13:16 PM EDT

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska lawmakers have passed a state spending package, which includes a dividend of about $1,300 each to residents this year, and ended their special session after one day. The special session began and ended Thursday, one day after the 121-day regular session...

Alaska court reconsiders 135-year sentence given to youngest girl ever convicted of murder in Alaska

May. 18, 2023 19:59 PM EDT

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A lower court will reconsider the 135-year sentence given to a then-14-year-old girl four decades ago for her role in the shooting deaths of three people in Anchorage. When Winona Fletcher was sentenced in 1986, she became the youngest female ever convicted...

Alaska lawmakers open special session after failing to reach budget deal

May. 18, 2023 16:45 PM EDT

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska lawmakers began a special session Thursday after failing to reach agreement on a state spending package during their four-month regular session. Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy called the special session after the House failed to take up a budget plan...