Anchorage news

• Fairbanks woman gets 23 years for husband’s shooting death

  30-04-2017 23:51
  
  FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) – A 51-year-old Alaska woman charged with killing her husband who was missing for weeks before police found his body buried under snow on their property in Fairbanks has been sentenced to 23 years in prison.
  The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports (http://bit.ly/2qiyuDj) Monica Dee Forbes was sentenced Friday for the 2015 death of 51-year-old Michael Pope. Forbes pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in October as part of a plea deal that required her sentence be no m
  
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• Anchorage police looking for missing teen

  30-04-2017 23:41
  
  The Anchorage Police Department is asking for the public’s help locating a 13-year-old runaway. Alexis Stewart left during the night and hasn’t spoken to her family since. APD said there are concerns for her safety.
  Stewart is described as being 5 feet 3 inches tall, with straight, long blonde hair. Police did not know what she was wearing when she left.
  Anyone with information regarding her location is urged to call police dispatch at 907-786-8900.
  This is a developing story; c
  
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• Lawmakers find common ground on $1T plan to keep gov’t open

  30-04-2017 22:54
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) – Top Capitol Hill negotiators are reporting progress toward a long-sought agreement on a massive $1 trillion-plus spending bill that would fund the day-to-day operations of virtually every federal agency through Oct. 1.
  Aides say lawmakers closely involved in the talks have worked through many sticking points in hopes of making the measure public as early as Sunday night. The House and Senate have until Friday at midnight to pass the measure to avert a government shutdown.
  
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• Dozens Hospitalized, Several Killed As Tornadoes Hit East Texas

  30-04-2017 22:24 via ktoo.org
  
  Updated at 9:05 a.m. ET.
  A tornado has injured dozens and killed at least five people in Canton, a small city in the east of Texas Saturday.
  Capt. Brian Horton of the Canton Fire Department told reporters late Saturday that numbers were “still coming in,” but there were “maybe five casualties.” The number could rise as search teams expand their operation in the morning, he said.
  “We still may have some people that aren’t accounted for,” he said.Texas Tas
  
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• At least 9 killed as storms roll across the US

  30-04-2017 21:51
  
  CANTON, Texas (AP) – The Latest on severe weather in parts of the U.S. (all times local):
  3:10 p.m.
  Authorities say two people have died in flooding in Arkansas, raising the death toll from weekend storms in that state to three.
  Officials say two children are also missing in Arkansas after a vehicle was swept off a bridge in Hindsville in the northwest part of the state.
  Across the U.S., nine people have been killed by tornadoes and flooding in the Midwest and Southeast.
  Four people died i
  
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• At least 7 killed as storms roll across the US

  30-04-2017 21:51
  
  CANTON, Texas (AP) – The Latest on severe weather in parts of the U.S. (all times local):
  1:45 p.m.
  At least seven people have died in the severe storms rolling across the U.S.
  Four deaths happened in Texas and deaths were also reported in Arkansas, Missouri and Mississippi as a line of storms brought tornadoes, flooding and heavy rains to the Midwest and the South.
  In Texas, a series of tornadoes left a trail of overturned vehicles, mangled trees and damaged homes.
  The Missouri State High
  
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• Man charged in Fairbanks shooting that left 1 critically injured

  30-04-2017 20:45
  
  A 37-year-old man, who turned himself in to Fairbanks police, was taken into custody Saturday evening, following a shooting that left another man with critical injuries.
  According to the Fairbanks Police Department, the shooting was reported at 3:57 p.m., Saturday. When police arrived at 612 11th Avenue they found Vernon Smoke, 36, with a gunshot wound to his abdomen.
  Smoke was transported to a local hospital where he was taken into surgery. FPD said he was still in surgery at 8:49 p.m., an
  
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• The ‘Greatest Show on Earth’ folds its tent for good

  30-04-2017 20:12
  
  Faced with declining ticket sales, the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus — after juggling the numbers as best it could — is staging its final performance two weeks from today … which means that for anyone wanting to take one last look, there’s no time to lose. Lee Cowan reports:
  “Ladies and Gentleman, children of all ages … Welcome to the Greatest Show on Earth!”
  It is a pretty bold claim: “The Greatest Show on Earth.”  
  
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• Southeast Alaskans predict tariff’s effects on timber market

  30-04-2017 04:35 via ktoo.org
  
  A timber sale sign is posted in the Tongass National Forest on Prince of Wales island. (KRBD file photo)
  The Trump administration announced this week it is planning to impose a tariff of up to 24 percent on softwood lumber imported to the U.S. from Canada. It’s uncertain what this will mean for the timber industry in Southeast Alaska.
  Ketchikan-based Alcan Forest Products has operations in the United States and Canada. Partner Brian Brown says the tariff will raise the price of lumber. Whi
  
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• Ancient speartip leads to recognition for Round Island

  30-04-2017 04:34 via ktoo.org
  
  Round Island. (Photo courtesy U.S. National Park Service)
  Round Island is one of the craggy coastal islands that make up the Walrus Islands State Game Sanctuary near Togiak. In 2004, a small spear-tip found on the island was tested and found to be over 6,000 years old.
  Prior to this discovery, it was thought that human habitation on the islands dated back only 2,500 years. The available evidence showed that hunters were drawn there by the summer haul out of walrus, but also for the seals, sea li
  
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• Facebook acknowledges election manipulation

  30-04-2017 04:07
  
  Without saying the words “Russia,” “Hillary Clinton,” or “Donald Trump,” Facebook acknowledged Thursday for the first time what others have been saying for months.
  In a paper released by its security division, the company said “malicious actors” used the platform during the 2016 presidential election as part of a campaign “with the intent of harming the reputation of specific political targets.”
  “Facebook is not in a position to m
  
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• There’s a celestial trick to the latest postal stamp

  30-04-2017 04:04
  
  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The U.S. Postal Service is going all out for this summer’s total solar eclipse, with a first-of-its kind stamp.
  Just touch the stamp with your finger, and the heat transforms the image of the blacked-out sun into the moon. Remove your finger, and the eclipse reappears. The trick is using temperature-sensitive ink.
  The ink is vulnerable to UV light; ironically, that means that the stamp should be kept out of direct sunlight to preserve the special effect, the U.
  
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• Citywide Cleanup Week begins in Anchorage

  30-04-2017 04:02
  
  As temperatures in Southcentral warm, Anchorage’s snowpack is quickly dwindling. The melting snow leaves behind garbage – lots of it. For the forty-ninth year, Anchorage Citywide Cleanup Week aims to beautify the city before summer. The cleanup kicked off Saturday, with a particularly large group of volunteers picking up trash in Mountain View.
  “We haven’t done a community volunteer day where residents have gone out and cleaned the residential streets in quite a few years
  
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• 12 hazing complaints since 2014 confirmed at Marine base

  30-04-2017 03:42
  
  BEAUFORT, S.C. (AP) – Officials at the Marine Corps’ training base in South Carolina say half of 24 hazing complaints investigated since 2014 have been confirmed.
  The Island Packet and The Beaufort Gazette reported Saturday that documents obtained through a public records request show the complaints involve all four of Parris Island’s training battalions.
  The newspapers have so far received heavily redacted documents from 15 investigations. Depot officials did not specify which
  
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• China deports US citizen convicted of spying after 2 years in custody

  30-04-2017 03:33
  
  China has deported an American citizen who was convicted and sentenced on an espionage charge after she was held in custody for more than two years.
  A spokesman for the State Department confirmed to CBS News that the U.S. is aware Chinese authorities deported 45-year-old Sandy Phan-Gillis on Friday.
  The deportation follows a trial last week where Phan-Gillis was convicted of spying for the U.S. government from 1996 to 1998. She was sentenced to three and a half years in prison.
  Phan-Gillis, an i
  
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• AST: Stolen weapon found in stolen car after pursuit

  30-04-2017 03:06
  
  A report of a stolen car led troopers on a chase in Ninilchik Wednesday evening.
  Someone spotted the stolen car on the Sterling Highway and called it in.
  When troopers tried to stop the car, the driver refused and a pursuit ensued before coming to an end when the driver stopped the car on a beach.
  The two men inside tried to run away but were caught as they climbed the cliff off of the beach.
  Troopers arrested 27-year-old Randall Igou, of Anchorage, and 37-year-old Jeremy Watson, of Homer.
  
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• Ice jam raising flood concern on Kuskokwim River

  30-04-2017 02:39
  
  Many rivers in southern Alaska are in the process of breaking-up. The first ice jam reported this season could cause flooding near Red Devil.
  The Alaska-Pacific River Forecast Center reported the ice jam on the Kuskokwim River Saturday. They say the ice broke free near Red Devil Friday night, but ice is still in place eight miles downstream of the village.
  The river is currently at its bank near Red Devil. If the ice continues to block the river, minor flooding is possible.
  The National Weather
  
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• Corrections officer assaulted by inmate, troopers say

  30-04-2017 02:27
  
  An inmate assaulted a corrections officer at Spring Creek Friday night.
  According to troopers, the assault happened at the correctional center around 9:15 Friday.
  The officer went to Seward Hospital for treatment of minor injuries.
  Troopers haven’t identified the inmate who attacked the officer but say charges are pending.
  The post Corrections officer assaulted by inmate, troopers say appeared first on KTVA 11.
  
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• Man charged in attack of woman, unborn child

  30-04-2017 01:45
  
  Troopers arrested a man Friday who’s accused of trying to hurt an unborn child back in March.
  Alaska State Troopers say the incident happened on the evening of March 20 in Deering.
  Their investigation found Thomas Barr had attacked a pregnant woman, injuring her and trying to hurt her unborn child. The unborn child did not sustain any injuries, according to authorities.
  Officers arrested Barr Friday on charges of fourth-degree domestic assault and second-degree attempted assault of an unbo
  
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• US strike on N. Korea could trigger ‘catastrophic retaliation’

  30-04-2017 00:58
  
  As President Trump raises the real possibility of “major conflict” with North Korea over its nuclear and missile programs, the U.S. is putting on a show of force intended to convince the regime that it doesn’t stand a chance against the American military. There’s no doubt who would win, but the destruction would be horrendous for both sides, reports CBS News correspondent David Martin.
  In an interview with Reuters two days before his 100th day in office, the president sai
  
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• Blast kills U.S. service member outside Mosul, Pentagon says

  30-04-2017 00:52
  
  BAGHDAD (AP) – The Pentagon says an explosive device has killed a U.S. service member outside Mosul.
  The Pentagon on Saturday did not provide any further details, stating further information would be released as appropriate.
  Saturday’s incident marks the second American military fatality since the start of the Mosul operation against the Islamic State group more than six months ago.
  The Pentagon has acknowledged more than 100 U.S. special operations forces are operating with Iraqi un
  
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• Zika virus confirmed in Alaskan who visited Central America

  30-04-2017 00:48 via ktoo.org
  
  JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — State health officials say an Alaska resident who recently traveled to Central America has tested positive for the mosquito-borne Zika virus.
  But the state’s top medical officer, Jay Butler, is urging Alaskans to stay calm.
  In a release, Butler says people cannot spread the virus through casual contact. He also says it is transmitted by mosquito species native to warmer climates that do not live in Alaska.
  The state health department says prior cases of Zika wer
  
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• Salmon fishing predictions look bleak for Cook Inlet

  30-04-2017 00:43 via ktoo.org
  
  KENAI, Alaska (AP) — The Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s commercial sockeye salmon outlook this year is predicting Upper Cook Inlet fishermen will have their lowest harvest in the past 15 years.
  The Peninsula Clarion reported earlier this week that the outlook predicts a total run of 4 million fish to all stream systems in the inlet.
  Commercial fishermen are projected to harvest about 1.7 million fish.
  The outlook shows Kenai River predictions are not matching the levels reached
  
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• Time to consult Congress over use of force against ISIS, lawmakers say

  30-04-2017 00:41 via ktoo.org
  
  Servicemen put on a military demonstration during the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL Meeting in July 2016 at Andrews Air Force Base, Md.
  To legally justify its military actions against the Islamic State, the U.S. has relied on a piece of 2001 legislation, written years before the extremist group came into existence.
  Now 46 representatives from both parties say in a letter to Speaker Paul Ryan that it’s time for Congress to “immediately begin a serious debate” on authorization
  
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• NSA to limit some collection of internet communication

  30-04-2017 00:31 via ktoo.org
  
  The National Security Administration (NSA) campus in Fort Meade, Md. Patrick Semansky/AP
  The National Security Agency is scaling back the way it spies on some communications over the Internet.
  The NSA says it discovered what it called “lapses” in compliance with U.S. law.
  They’re called “about” communications: The NSA not only watches messages traveling to and from a foreign target, but those that mention one.
  That can mean the NSA sometimes sweeps up data from Amer
  
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