Anchorage news

• Fort Lauderdale airport shooting suspect pleads not guilty to 22 counts

  30-01-2017 22:59 via ktoo.org
  
  The 26-year-old man accused of opening fire at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport earlier this month pleaded not guilty to 22 counts at his arraignment in a federal court on Monday.
  Esteban Santiago Ruiz allegedly traveled from Alaska and started firing in the Florida airport’s crowded baggage claim area. Investigators say he continued until he ran out of ammunition, then dropped his weapon and was arrested by law enforcement officers.
  Five people were killed and six were inju
  
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• More than 150 in Juneau protest executive orders limiting immigration

  30-01-2017 22:42 via ktoo.org
  
  A group of protesters stood at the Capitol steps to show support for refugees and immigrants Monday morning.
  National protests sprung up in the wake of President Donald Trump’s recent executive orders limiting immigration.
  Protest co-organizer Dan Kirkwood says more than 175 people in Juneau joined the national outcry.
  “We’re just citizens of Juneau and we’re outraged and we’re committed to stand up for our values,” he said. “America is a
  
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• Teacher of the Week: Mischell Anderson

  30-01-2017 20:54
  
  Whether teaching AP Psychology or AP World History, KTVA’s Teacher of the Week wants her students to take away some valuable life lessons.
  “I hope they have the ability to critically look at their world and question the things that they see,” said Mischell Anderson. “I hope they believe in themselves as lifelong learners, as people who can contribute to the world. And I also hope they have a little more understanding and tolerance for all of the people that live on the pl
  
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• Mayor Berkowitz to protesters: ‘This country is built on principles, not on walls’

  30-01-2017 20:48
  
  Hundreds in Anchorage demonstrated against President Donald Trump Sunday evening, as roughly 200 protesters gathered outside the James M. Fitzgerald U.S. Courthouse and Federal Building at C Street and Seventh Avenue to send a message to the president and their representatives in Washington.
  Chanting phrases like,”No hate, no fear, refugees are welcome here!” they protested an executive order Trump signed Friday, which stops the refugee admissions program and bans citizens
  
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• Alaska federal health care signups up from 2016

  30-01-2017 18:28
  
  More than 18,000 Alaska residents have signed up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, a slight increase from last year despite uncertainty over the future of “Obamacare.”
  The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released figures showing that 18,255 Alaskans signed up for coverage as of Jan. 18, compared to last year’s 17,995 residents. Open enrollment continues through Tuesday.
  The growth comes as President Donald Trump has vowed to repeal the hea
  
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• Snowmachiner dies after avalanche in southcentral Alaska

  30-01-2017 18:23
  
  Authorities say a man has died after being caught in an avalanche near Cooper Landing in southcentral Alaska.
  Alaska State Troopers had received a report on Saturday that Bryant Evans saw his friend Tyler Kloos go down in an avalanche while the two Soldotna men had been riding snowmachines.
  Troopers say both men were wearing avalanche beacons.
  Evans was eventually able to locate Kloos and dig him out of the snow.
  CPR was administered and Kloos was taken to a hospital by helicopter, but the 29-ye
  
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• Florida airport shooting suspect pleads not guilty

  30-01-2017 18:15
  
  The suspect in the Florida airport shooting spree in which five people were killed and six were wounded has pleaded not guilty.
  During an arraignment Monday, 26-year-old Esteban Santiago told the judge he understood each of the charges in the 22-count federal indictment. He’s accused in the Jan. 6 shooting at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
  He’s charged with causing death or bodily harm at an international airport, causing death during a crime of violence and using a
  
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• Charity for school kids just underneath fundraising goal

  30-01-2017 10:05 via ktoo.org
  
  Feeding Juneau’s Future raised more than $900 from about 72 people by the end of a pancake dinner in the Thunder Mountain High School commons.
  The group hoped the event would be the last push they needed to reach their goal.
  Cindy Gaguine, a coordinator with the group, said the Benito and Frances C. Gaguine Foundation, which her husband runs, has promised to match their donations up to $10,000.
  “And with a Go Fund Me that we have going on right now and local donations, we have r
  
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• Suspect in fatal Anchorage shooting appears in court

  30-01-2017 09:18 via ktoo.org
  
  A man is facing charges in the shooting death of a 19-year-old man in Anchorage.
  Bail was set for 23-year-old Christopher Birotte on Saturday after he turned himself into authorities the day before.
  Prosecutors say Birotte shot at a vehicle with four people inside on Tuesday and killed Tiwan Johnson Jr.
  Court documents say a nearby security camera recorded Birotte firing at the car as it drove away.
  KTUU-TV reported Eric Miller was also shot and treated for his injuries.
  Birotte’s attorney
  
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• As protests emerge, brothers agree to give Trump Administration a chance

  30-01-2017 09:14 via ktoo.org
  
  Brothers, Tim and Bill Jackson have been watching the the beginning work of the Trump Administration with different views. (Brian Mann/NPR)
  Sunday morning the Jackson brothers stood outside a little diner in Elizabethtown, N.Y. They grew up on Long Island, but for decades they’ve lived here in Essex County, a deeply rural corner of the Adirondack Mountains. People in these small towns voted strongly for Donald Trump in November.
  Asked about the president’s first week in office, they
  
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• With National Security Council shakeup, Steve Bannon gets a seat at the table

  30-01-2017 09:07 via ktoo.org
  
  President Trump has reorganized the National Security Council by elevating his chief strategist Steve Bannon and demoting the Director of National Intelligence and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
  Now, Bannon will join the NSC’s principals committee, the top inter-agency group for discussing national security. The National Security Council is the staff inside the White House that coordinates decision making by the president on such matters, in coordination with outside department
  
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• EPA grant funding available again after temporary hold sparks concern

  30-01-2017 08:58 via ktoo.org
  
  A crew works on a sewer system in a rural Alaska village. Photo courtesy USDA Rural Development.
  Alakanuk, and other villages seeking federal sewer and water money received good news Friday afternoon.
  The Environmental Protection Agency announced that its funding for grant projects is once again available. This means that tribes receiving money for infrastructure projects can proceed as normal.
  Over the last week, many have questioned the need to review the EPA’s operations and s
  
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• Chukchi Sea polar bears are thriving but only in the short term

  30-01-2017 08:58 via ktoo.org
  
  A polar bear keeps close to her young along the Beaufort Sea coast in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. (Public Domain photo by Susanne Miller/USFWS)
  If there’s a poster child for Arctic animals affected by climate change, it’s the polar bear. But the data behind those famous furry faces tells a more complicated story.
  Dr. Eric Regehr is a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Anchorage. He’s the lead author of a new study on the global conservation status of
  
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• NTSB: Anchorage plane bound for Kenai Peninsula missing

  30-01-2017 07:43
  
  On Sunday, aviation officials confirmed a plane headed from Anchorage for the Kenai Peninsula went missing.
  Clint Johnson, a spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board, said in a phone interview that the flight took off from Lake Hood and was headed to the Kenai and Soldotna area.
  When it failed to arrived, a search effort began, led by the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center, Johnson said. The ARCC said the mission was ongoing as of 9 p.m.
  Information about those likely aboard the pla
  
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• Thousands protest Trump’s immigration order, president stands by his decision

  30-01-2017 06:15
  
  Thousands around the country are protesting a recent executive order signed by President Donald Trump. The order temporarily halts the influx of immigrants to the U.S., particularly those from seven Muslim-majority nations: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
  READ: Executive Order: Protecting The Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into The United States (PDF)
  Many protesting the order claim Trump’s aim is to keep Muslims from emigrating to the U.S. Some sign
  
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• Quebec police report fatalities in mosque shooting

  30-01-2017 05:13
  
  People have died in a Sunday evening in a shooting at a mosque in the provincial capital of Quebec City, police say.
  Authorities did not specify the number of fatalities, but the Quebec City Islamic Cultural Centre President Mohamed Yangui confirmed late Sunday in a telephone call that five people were dead.Tonight, Canadians grieve for those killed in a cowardly attack on a mosque in Quebec City. My thoughts are with victims & their families.
  — Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) January
  
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• Second snowiest January on record for Anchorage

  30-01-2017 04:23
  
  The snow that fell across the Anchorage Bowl Friday night and Saturday added up to 6.2 inches officially at the National Weather Service office on the west side of town.
  This storm brought Anchorage’s snowfall total up to 31.7 inches for the month of January, which is 21.2 inches above normal. Over 50 inches has fallen this season.
  After setting records for daily snowfall at least twice this month, another record is in jeopardy. If at least 2.7 inches of snow falls between Sunday and Wedne
  
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• Organizations provide free tax preparation in Anchorage

  30-01-2017 03:44
  
  Tax season is here. A number of organizations in Anchorage are helping people deal with the headache of filing taxes through a free tax preparation service.
  The AARP Foundation and the United Way of Anchorage hosted the first tax preparation event at the Northeast Community Center Saturday.
  “One of the very, very wonderful things about what we do and what the volunteers do is to make absolutely sure that the taxpayers get every tax refund, every tax credit that they have coming to them,&rd
  
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• UAA skiing is back where it belongs, on the slopes

  30-01-2017 03:36
  
  Forget a year, what a difference three months can make. While this past week represented the first time in two years that the University of Alaska Anchorage skiing program hosted an event, the Seawolves weren’t sure they’d ever be on the slopes again wearing the green and gold.Since last February, looming budget cuts threatened to eliminate the program. A quiet spring led to a noisier summer. Then in the fall, it was declare
  
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• Delta computers experience systemwide outage, departing flights delayed

  30-01-2017 02:14
  
  Last updated at 4:26 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 29
  A Delta Airlines representative confirmed that the company’s computers were malfunctioning Saturday afternoon. On the company’s website, an alert was issued saying all departing flights would be delayed as a result of the systemwide failure.
  “Departing flights delayed. We are working quickly to resolve a systemwide outage affecting all departing flights,” the website stated.Delta teams are working to fix a systems outage that
  
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• Troopers: Snowmobiler buried by avalanche dies

  30-01-2017 01:24
  
  An avalanche near Snug Harbor Trailhead claimed the life of a snowmobiler Saturday, Alaska State Troopers report.
  In an online dispatch, troopers said Bryant Evans and his friend Tyler Kloos were on snowmobiles roughly two miles from the trailhead in Cooper Landing when an avalanche occurred. Search and rescue crews responded to the area just after 3 p.m., troopers wrote.
  Evans told troopers he witnessed the avalanche bury Kloos, who was wearing an avalanche beacon, according to the dispatch.
  &l
  
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