Anchorage news

• Couple booted from United flight in Houston

  16-04-2017 23:10
  
  HOUSTON (AP) – A couple flying to Costa Rica for their wedding later this week were removed from a United Airlines flight in Houston for not following crew instructions.
  Passenger Michael Hohl tells Houston television station KHOU (http://bit.ly/2pqIeIa) he and his fiancé moved to empty seats because another passenger was asleep Saturday in their ticketed seats. They insisted they complied with a flight attendant to return to their proper seats, but a federal air marshal came aboard
  
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• French man loses part of his leg in Hawaii shark attack

  16-04-2017 23:09
  
  HONOLULU (AP) – A man who witnessed a Hawaii shark attack says the victim is a French surfer who had part of a leg amputated but is in remarkably good spirits.
  Mac Pigott tells KHON-TV (http://bit.ly/2oNEi6y ) he visited the victim on Saturday in a hospital on the island of Kauai following the attack at Davidson’s Beach.
  Pigott did not identify the French man by name, but he provided KHON-TV with a picture of him smiling from his hospital bed.
  Pigott says doctors amputated one of the
  
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• Police investigate man’s death at Fairbanks motel

  16-04-2017 23:08
  
  FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) – Authorities say they are investigating the death of a man found unresponsive at a Fairbanks motel as a homicide.
  Officers responded to the Alaska Motor Inn on Sunday after reports of a possible death.
  Police located the unresponsive victim at the bottom of a stairway in the motel and confirmed he was dead.
  The man’s identity and cause of death have not yet been released.
  Anyone with information about recent suspicious activity at the Alaska Motor Inn is asked
  
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• Plane strikes power lines, crashes near Talkeetna

  16-04-2017 23:03
  
  Saturday afternoon, a small plane crashed near Talkeetna after striking power lines over the Parks Highway.
  According to Alaska State Patrol, a 1962 Cessna 182E crashed near milepost 89 on the Parks Highway. ASP says the pilot, 51-year-old Ronald Scott Hernandez, of King Salmon, was attempting to make an emergency landing when he struck power lines crossing the highway.
  The plane came to a rest on the west side of the highway, vertical on its nose.
  Hernandez suffered minor injuries.
  The National
  
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• Seafood joins fair trade revolution, a scallop at a time

  16-04-2017 22:17
  
  PORTLAND, Maine (AP) – Fair trade certification for seafood products is on the rise in the U.S., where interest is growing in the story behind the fish and shellfish people eat.
  To be certified, companies need to submit to an audit to make sure food is produced under fair working conditions and environmental stewardship along the supply chain. Packaged products can then bear a “Fair Trade Certified” seal.
  Fair Trade USA says certification of seafood products began in 2014 and t
  
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• Will free college offer catch fire? NY details raise doubts

  16-04-2017 22:14
  
  ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) – Some higher education experts question whether New York’s first-in-the nation free college tuition plan should be a model for other states.
  They say the plan, which covers tuition at public colleges for students whose families earn $125,000 or less, offers the least assistance to the neediest students, whose tuition is already covered by other aid.
  There are also concerns that it doesn’t pay for costs beyond tuition, such as room and board, which can account
  
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• Professor sues Wal-Mart over ‘clean toilets’ description

  16-04-2017 22:13
  
  BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) – A Montana State University professor is suing Wal-Mart for libel after he says an employee at the Bozeman store listed his occupation on a fishing license as a “toilet cleaner.”
  Gilbert Kalonde, assistant professor of technology education at MSU, filed the suit this past week in Gallatin County District Court.
  Kalonde is seeking unspecified damages.
  Wal-Mart spokesman Ragan Dickens told The Associated Press: “To our knowledge an administrative proces
  
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• A year on, few answers from probe into Prince’s death

  16-04-2017 21:22
  
  MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Nearly a year after Prince died from an accidental drug overdose in his suburban Minneapolis studio and estate, investigators still don’t know how he got the fentanyl that killed him.
  An official with knowledge of the investigation told The Associated Press that authorities still haven’t interviewed a key associate who was with Prince in his final days, and they haven’t asked a grand jury to investigate. The official spoke on condition of anonymity beca
  
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• United changes policy, crew can’t displace seated passengers

  16-04-2017 20:37
  
  CHICAGO (AP) – United Airlines is changing a company policy and will no longer allow crew members to displace customers already onboard an airplane.
  The change comes after a passenger, Dr. David Dao, was dragged from a fully-booked United Express flight in Chicago because he refused to give up his seat to make room for crew members. Cellphone video of the incident sparked widespread outrage and created a public-relations nightmare for United.
  Under the change outlined in an internal April
  
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• No injuries in Seward Street fire, though several businesses affected

  16-04-2017 10:07 via ktoo.org
  
  A downtown fire on Saturday night shut down part of Seward Street and smoked out a building that houses multiple stores. Water and foam ran down the street and pooled at the feet of onlookers who watched firefighters search for the fire’s source.
  Assistant Fire Chief Ed Quinto said firefighters were able to respond quickly and clear the building, and there were no injuries. He said construction underway in the building could have facilitated the fire’s spread, but firefighters quick
  
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• House sends income tax bill to Senate

  16-04-2017 05:55 via ktoo.org
  
  House Speaker Bryce Edgmon (D-Dillingham) speaks in favor of a tax on income to fund education. The House passed the bill, 22-17. (Photo by Andrew Kitchenman/KTOO/Alaska Public Media)
  The House passed a bill Saturday that would bring a state income tax to Alaska for the first time in 37 years. The vote sends it to the Senate, where leaders oppose the tax.
  Dillingham Democratic House Speaker Bryce Edgmon said the Education Funding Act, House Bill 115, is needed to prevent rural communities f
  
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• Forgot to change your studs? Troopers say take them off

  16-04-2017 05:50 via ktoo.org
  
  (Creative Commons photo by Ben McLeod)
  Friday was the last day law enforcement would not ticket drivers with studs in Kodiak, the Aleutians and Southeast Alaska, according to an Alaska State Trooper dispatch,
  If you are pulled over with studded tires in those areas, troopers could fine you $50 and fines from other law enforcement may be even higher.
  Alaska law forbids drivers’ use of studded tires and tires with chains outside of winter months in most of the state. Metal studs and chains c
  
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• April the Giraffe finally gives birth as more than 1 million watch

  16-04-2017 04:43
  
  It’s finally here!
  Millions of people have watched a live cam of April the Giraffe in recent weeks, waiting for her to give birth. On Saturday, the time finally came.
  Over 1 million viewers were watching a YouTube stream as the giraffe finally gave birth on Saturday morning. April went into labor around 7:30 a.m. and the calf was successfully born shortly before 10 a.m.
  This is April’s fourth calf, but the first born at Animal Adventure Park. The zoo said the newborn was expected to
  
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• Alaska Heart Run bibs ready for pickup

  16-04-2017 04:25
  
  The Alaska Heart Run is in just one week and preparations are well underway, according to race officials.
  The 5K run raises money for the American Heart Association while also bringing awareness about heart health to Alaskans.
  Dustin Morris, the development director for the Alaska Heart Run, says the run is a celebration of activity for everyone, as being active is an important part of preventing heart disease.
  “It really doesn’t matter about your ability level,” Morris explain
  
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• Car wash fundraiser brings in donations for family of slain Mountain View teen

  16-04-2017 04:24
  
  Dozens of vehicles lined Mountain View’s Price Street Saturday afternoon as they waited for a wash. A large group of volunteers washed vehicles outside the Mountain View Boys and Girls Club as part of a fundraising effort to help the family of Leroy Lawrence.
  The East High School student was shot in the head on his 17th birthday on April 7.  He died as a result of his injuries. During the seven-hour-long car wash, the line of vehicles never stopped, keeping vo
  
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• Craft fair highlights artwork, abilities of Alaskans with special needs

  16-04-2017 04:22
  
  A group of Anchorage artists says they started a new tradition Saturday. The Shining Abilities Craft Fair is an event that gives Alaskans with special needs a place to show their work and abilities.
  Artists displayed everything from colorful pipe cleaner creations to jewelry, all of which was for sale. Anyone with intellectual or developmental disabilities was welcome to take part in the fair and share their stories of growth and achievement.
  Heidi Lieb-Williams, the organizer of the s
  
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• Gov. Walker meets with Vice President Pence in Anchorage

  16-04-2017 03:36
  
  Gov. Bill Walker and his wife, Alaska first lady Donna Walker, welcome Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, US second lady Karen Pence, to AnchorageCourtesy the Office of the Governer Gov. Bill Walker and his wife, Alaska first lady Donna Walker, welcome Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, US second lady Karen Pence, to AnchorageCourtesy the Office of the Governer Gov. Bill Walker and his wife, Alaska first lady Donna Walker, welcome Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, US second lady
  
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• Attempted North Korean missile launch fails, U.S. confirms

  16-04-2017 03:19
  
  North Korea attempted and failed to launch a missile, the U.S. Pacific Command confirmed on Saturday.
  The official said the missile was not an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which North Korea has claimed to possess but has never successfully tested.
  The missile blew up almost immediately, the U.S. Pacific Command said. The type of missile is still being assessed.
  It’s unclear why it failed. The missile was launched from Sinpo, on its east coast.
  The Yonhap news agency in South
  
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• Alaska House passes first income tax since 1980

  16-04-2017 02:51
  
  The Alaska House of Representatives passed a statewide personal income tax Saturday. It’s the first of its kind since legislators abolished the broad-based tax in 1980, after state coffers filled with billions of new dollars from the Trans-Alaska Pipeline.
  House Bill 115 creates an income tax based on federal adjusted gross income that includes a per-person exemption of $4,000, including dependents. That deduction is reduced proportionally for out-of-state residents earning income elsewher
  
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• United Airlines changes its policy on displacing customers

  16-04-2017 01:31 via ktoo.org
  
  Two United Airlines planes taking off at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. After a man was dragged off a United flight, the company changed its policy on overbooked flights. David J. Phillip/AP
  United Airlines crew members will no longer be able to bump a passenger who is already seated in one of the airline’s planes.
  The policy change was first reported by TMZ. A spokesperson for the airline confirms that United has updated its policy “to make sure crews traveling on
  
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• This week in education: DeVos hires; NY announces free college and free textbooks

  16-04-2017 01:31 via ktoo.org
  
  U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos speaking at the 2017 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland. (Creative Commons photo by Gage Skidmore)
  Greetings and welcome to our weekly roundup of education news from Washington and around the country:
  DeVos hires
  U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos made her first official staff announcement this week, with 10 names.
  Among them: Josh Venable, will serve as DeVos’ chief of staff. He worked on the presidenti
  
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• Paul Manafort’s activities arouse interest of Ukrainian prosecutors

  16-04-2017 01:31 via ktoo.org
  
  Ukrainian investigators are seeking to understand the extent of the ties Paul Manafort, shown here in July 2016, had with former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.
  Carolyn Kaster/AP
  Paul Manafort quit as Donald Trump’s campaign manager last summer amid questions about his consulting work for a disgraced Ukrainian leader who now is a wanted man in his own country.
  While Manafort vanished from Ukraine’s political scene even earlier, his name lives on in Kiev.
  Ukrainian investigator
  
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• Memo suggests House Permanent Fund bill would likely survive challenge

  16-04-2017 00:25 via ktoo.org
  
  The House version of a bill to draw money from Permanent Fund earnings would likely survive a legal challenge, according to the Legislature’s top legal adviser.
  The issue in question was a provision of Senate Bill 26 that was added by the House. The provision said the bill will only go into effect if the Legislature also passed bills that institute a broad-based tax, like an income or sales tax, and that raise oil and gas taxes.
  Members of the House minority who opposed the provi
  
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