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‘Wáats’asdiyei Joe Yates, Raye Lankford, X̱’unei Lance Twitchell and Rochelle Adams pose with the Children’s and Family Emmy Award award Lankford and Twitchell won for co-writing the an episode of the PBS animated children’s show “Molly of Denali.” (Photo courtesy of ‘Wáats’asdiyei Joe Yates)

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‘Molly of Denali’ episode wins best writing honor at 2025 Children’s and Family Emmy Awards

First Emmy win for animated PBS show goes to episode co-writers X̱’unei Lance Twitchell and Raye Lankford.

The Tlingit and Haida Elders Group performs the entrance dance at the 89th annual Tribal Assembly of the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska on Wednesday, April 17, 2024, at Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)

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Trump rescinds Biden executive order expanding tribal sovereignty and self-governance

Order giving Natives more access to federal funds cited in awarding of major Southeast Alaska projects.

Rep. Rebecca Himschoot (I-Sitka) offers an overview of House Bill 69 during Wednesday’s floor session. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

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House passes education bill with $1,000 BSA increase as state’s fiscal situation grows bleaker

Senate majority likely to trim hike to $680 while legislators also seek policy deal with governor.

Daaljíni Mary Cruise, left, offers encouragement to participants in a Unity for the Queer Community rally at the Alaska State Capitol on Sunday afternoon. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

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Hundreds participate in Juneau LGBTQ+ rally as Trump administration seeks to erase letters and rights

President’s actions to stop “woke” are putting people’s safety and health at risk, participants say.

President Donald Trump argues with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine in the Oval Office on Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. For decades or longer, no American president has engaged in such an angry, scathing attack on a visiting foreign leader. And what really seemed to get under Trump’s skin were Zelenskyy’s harsh words about President Vladimir Putin of Russia. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)

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Murkowski ‘sick to my stomach’ about Trump’s berating of Ukraine’s Zelensky in Oval Office

Senator says talk of president ending support for Ukraine, abandoning other allies “a threat to democracy.”

Jamiann S’eiltin Hasselquist asks participants to kneel as a gesture to “stay grounded in the community” during a protest in front of the Alaska State Capitol on Wednesday focused on President Donald Trump’s actions since the beginning of his second term. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

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Trump protest rally at Alaska State Capitol targets Nazi-like salutes, challenges to Native rights

More than 120 people show up as part of nationwide protest to actions during onset of Trump’s second…

A person is detained in Anchorage in recent days by officials from the FBI and U.S. Department of Homeland Security. (FBI Anchorage Field Office photo)

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Trump’s immigration raids arrive in Alaska, while Coast Guard in state help deportations at southern US border

Anchorage arrests touted by FBI, DEA; Coast Guard plane from Kodiak part of “alien expulsion flight operations.”

State Rep. Rebecca Himschoot (right), I-Sitka, answers a question from Rep. Jubilee Underwood (right), R-Wasilla, about a bill increasing per-pupil public school funding during a House Education Committee meeting on Monday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

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Legislators and governor form working group seeking quick education funding and policy package

Small bipartisan group plans to spend up to two weeks on plan as related bills are put on…

A worker paints over a wall mural featuring words such as “fairness,” “leadership,” “compassion,” “diversity” and “integrity” at the FBI Academy at Quantico on Wednesday. (Anonymous photo provided to The New York Times)

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Mass deletion and alteration of federal websites includes Alaska reports and data

Forest Service climate assessment, Alaska Native education program, FEMA strategic plan among deletions.

Kate Sheehan (left foreground), director of the Alaska Division of Personnel and Labor Relations, and Paula Vrana, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Administration, discuss an ongoing statewide salary study during a House State Affairs Committee meeting Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, at the Alaska State Capitol. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

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Dunleavy’s delay in releasing state salary study frustrates legislators, union leaders

Draft report to assess competitiveness completed last June, but not released publicly.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy delivers his State of the State speech at the Alaska State Capitol on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, with Senate President Gary Stevens, at left, and House Speaker Bryce Edgmon, at right, in the background. (Klas Stolpe/Juneau Empire)

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Gov. Dunleavy takes victory lap with selective portrayal of Alaska in second-to-last State of the State

Some legislators criticize “mixed messages” about cooperation, omission of problems needing work.

State Rep. Maxine Dibert (right), a Fairbanks Democrat, confers with Rep. Calvin Schrage (I-Anchorage) about a resolution opposing the change of Denali back to Mount McKinley during the House floor session at the Alaska State Capitol on Monday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

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Alaska House majority rejects GOP effort to turn protest of Denali name change into Trump tribute

Resolution opposing restoration of Mt. McKinley name is first legislation to pass House this session.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) walks to the Senate chamber ahead of a vote at the Capitol in Washington, on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (Tom Brenner/The New York Times)

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Murkowski says she will vote against Hegseth, making her 1st GOP senator to oppose a Trump Cabinet pick

Defense Secretary nominee facing barrage of accusations including sexual assault, drinking.

President Trump signed a series of executive orders in the first hours of his term. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)

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Birthright citizenship of Native Americans questioned by Trump administration

Justice Department makes argument defending executive order suspending birthright citizenship.

The Alaska governor’s mansion on Wednesday. Gov. Mike Dunleavy is considered a contender for a post in Donald Trump’s second presidential administration. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

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Election summary: Trump wins, GOP takes over U.S. Senate, Alaska may get new governor

Begich and repeal of ranked choice voting narrowly lead; GOP may lose control of state House.

A screenshot of the front page of e-edition of the Anchorage Daily News on Monday.

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Anchorage Daily News cuts print editions to twice a week, will continue e-paper six days a week

Change effective July 15 “reflects changing reader habits and rising costs,” according to newspaper.

Rep. Jamie Allard, R-Eagle River, and Rep. Mike Prax, R-North Pole, discuss a proposed amendment to a bill sponsored by Allard restricting transgender students’ participation in school sports during a House floor session on Thursday, May 9, 2024. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

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After accusations of ‘lying’ and ‘hate’ fly, House passes bill restricting transgender students in sports

Bill passes 22-18 after filibuster by minority, but declared dead in Senate as end of session nears

Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire Advocates on behalf of missing and murdered Indigenous persons hold a banner and perform a opening song during a rally in front of the Alaska State Capitol on Sunday to commemorate the annual Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness Day.

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Rally seeks future where Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness Day is not necessary

More than 50 people gather at Capitol to share stories of missing family, efforts to address issue

Rep. Sarah Vance, a Homer Republican, discusses a bill she sponsored requiring age verification to visit pornography websites while Rep. Andrew Gray, an Anchorage Democrat who added an amendment prohibiting children under 14 from having social media accounts, listens during a House floor session Friday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

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House passes bill banning kids under 14 from social media, requiring age verification for porn sites

Key provisions of proposal comes from legislators at opposite ends of the political spectrum

Juneau students chant outside the governor’s office on the third floor of the Alaska State Capitol during a statewide protest Thursday morning calling for more public education funding. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

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Juneau students take statewide protest for more education funding into the Capitol

Scores of students march from JDHS to the offices of the governor and other lawmakers.