NOTN- City Municipal Clerk Breckan Hendricks presented the official election certification report, at Monday evenings eventful meeting, and City officials are addressing questions voters had about voter number discrepancies.
Juneau has about 28,000 registered voters despite a population of roughly 31,000.
Weldon said the difference comes from using the state voter roll, which can take up to eight years to remove inactive voters.
“So that’s why, when everybody looks at that, when the election results says only 20% of the vote, that’s not a true number, because that’s 20% of the 28,000.” Said Mayor Beth Weldon.
Only 117 ballots were rejected this year, a small number that Weldon said reflects voters’ growing familiarity with the city’s voting process.
CBJ Municipal Clerk Breckan Hendricks says that election integrity is taken seriously by the borough.
“We need to make sure that we’re transparent, that everybody has faith in our system,” Hendricks said. “A lot of people don’t understand it. We have our election rules and procedures online now, on our juneau.org elections page, and we’re trying to get more PSAs out there, trying to make people hopefully understand the process a little better to give them more faith in our system. I know that there’s a lot of hesitancy with by-mail ballots, and we really are following all the rules and regulations to make sure that there’s no gaps.”
NOTN- Juneau Mayor Beth Weldon said city officials are taking new safety precautions after a man previously banned from City Hall returned during Monday night’s Assembly meeting and caused alarm among members as well as an hour delay preceding this month’s reorganization meeting.
Weldon said the man, who has a history of making threatening remarks toward the city, appeared wearing a mask and goggles, carrying a backpack, and taking photos while standing close to Assembly members.
“He’s been trespassed from City Hall and showed up yesterday and was menacing to the assembly, looming over them and taking pictures of us.” Said Weldon “It just was very uncomfortable for all of us, because we knew his history.”
Police escorted the man out peacefully, and Weldon said he will now be trespassed from all city meeting spaces, including Centennial Hall and City Hall.
She emphasized that the incident was not connected to ongoing public testimony about the controversial Telephone Hill redevelopment project, which has drawn strong emotional responses but no threats.
“The testimony from Telephone Hill residents has been very heartfelt,” Weldon said. “At no time have we felt threatened by them.”
The meeting did however, mark the close of the 2025 municipal election cycle as newly elected members were officially sworn into office.
Ella Adkison began her first full term as Areawide Assemblymember, Greg Smith started his final three-year term representing District 1, and Nathaniel “Nano” Brooks took office for his first term in District 2. On the School Board, Steve Whitney and Melissa Cullum each began three-year terms, while Jenny Thomas will serve two years to complete an unexpired seat.
Voters approved two citizen-led propositions, one lowering the property tax cap from 12 to 9 mills, and another creating sales tax exemptions for food and essential utilities, both tax measures will be in place November 20.
A third measure, proposing a seasonal sales tax, failed.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, center, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, arrives for a closed-door Republican meeting to advance President Donald Trump's sweeping domestic policy bill, at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, June 27, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, center, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Friday, June 27, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
AP- The pressure to end the second-longest federal government shutdown is gaining new urgency this week as millions of Americans face the prospect of losing food assistance, more federal workers miss their first full paycheck and recurring delays at airports snarl travel plans.
The building strain on lawmakers to end the impasse was magnified by the nation’s largest federal employee union, which called on Congress to immediately pass a funding bill and ensure workers receive full pay. Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, said the two political parties have made their point.
“It’s time to pass a clean continuing resolution and end this shutdown today. No half measures, and no gamesmanship,” said Kelley, whose union carries considerable political weight with Democratic lawmakers.
Still, Democratic senators, including those representing states with many federal workers, did not appear ready to back down. Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine said he was insisting on commitments from the White House to prevent the administration from mass firing more workers. Democrats also want Congress to extend subsidies for health plans under the Affordable Care Act.
“We’ve got to get a deal with Donald Trump,” Kaine said.
But shutdowns grow more painful the longer they go. Soon, with closures lasting a fourth full week as of Tuesday, millions of Americans are likely to experience the difficulties firsthand.
“This week, more than any other week, the consequences become impossible to ignore,” said Rep. Lisa McClain, chair of the House Republican Conference.
Shutdown’s impact is set to grow dramatically
The nation’s 1.3 million active-duty service members are at risk of missing a paycheck on Friday. Earlier this month, the Trump administration ensured they were paid by shifting $8 billion from military research and development funds to make payroll. But it is unclear if the Trump administration is willing — or able — to shift money again.
Larger still, the Trump administration says funding will run out Friday for the food assistance program that is relied upon by 42 million Americans to supplement their grocery bills. The administration has rejected the use of more than $5 billion in contingency funds to keep benefits flowing into November. And it says states won’t be reimbursed if they temporarily cover the cost of benefits next month.
The Department of Agriculture says the contingency fund is intended to help respond to emergencies such as natural disasters. Democrats say the decision concerning the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, goes against the department’s previous guidance concerning its operations during a shutdown.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said the administration made an intentional choice not to the fund SNAP in November, calling it an “act of cruelty.”
Will lawmakers find a solution?
At the Capitol, congressional leaders mostly highlighted the challenges many Americans are facing as a result of the shutdown. But there was no movement toward negotiations as they attempted to lay blame on the other side of the political aisle.
“Now government workers and every other American affected by this shutdown have become nothing more than pawns in the Democrats’ political games,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.
The House passed a short-term continuing resolution on Sept. 19 to keep federal agencies funded. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has kept the House out of legislative session ever since, saying the solution is for Democrats to simply accept that bill.
But the Senate has consistently fallen short of the 60 votes needed to advance that spending measure. Democrats insist that any bill to fund the government also address health care costs, namely the soaring health insurance premiums that millions of Americans will face next year under plans offered through the Affordable Care Act marketplace.
Window-shopping for health plans delayed
The window for enrolling in ACA health plans begins Saturday. In past years, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has allowed Americans to preview their health coverage options about a week before open enrollment.
As of Monday, Healthcare.gov appeared to show 2025 health insurance plans and estimated prices, instead of next year’s options. CMS was expected to temporarily bring back all its workers furloughed during the shutdown, in part to manage the ACA open enrollment period.
Twenty-eight senators, mostly Democrats, signed a letter urging Trump’s administration to let ACA enrollees start previewing next year’s health insurance options on its marketplace website.
Republicans insist they will not entertain negotiations on health care until the government reopens.
“I’m particularly worried about premiums going up for working families,” said Sen. David McCormick, R-Pa. “So we’re going to have that conversation, but we’re not going to have it until the government opens.”
Congressional leaders dig in deeper
Schumer said Republicans would prefer to shut the government down than work with Democrats in preventing massive spikes in their health insurance costs. He said the average American doesn’t want to pay an extra $20,000 a year to cover their health insurance.
“And we Democrats want to solve this crisis right away,” Schumer said. “So lowering health care is not a crazy demand.”
Vice President JD Vance planned to attend a Republican luncheon on Capitol Hill Tuesday. But with President Donald Trump traveling in Asia and congressional leaders dug into their positions, a quick deal appeared unlikely.
Meanwhile, some rank-and-file lawmakers urged colleagues to consider the impact of their standoff on the lives of federal employees and Capitol police officers who have not been paid for weeks.
“We have got to come together, which means we’ve got to talk to one another,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican, said in a floor speech urging leaders to stop focusing on who was winning the political fight. “Right now, those that are losing are the American people.”
John Boyle, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, speaks on Nov. 15, 2023, at the Resource Development for Alaska annual conference in Anchorage. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
John Boyle, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, abruptly resigned his position on Friday.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced the appointment of his deputy, John Crowther, as acting head of the agency that regulates Alaska’s agriculture, mining, oil and gas.
The governor’s office declined Monday to answer questions about the resignation, which had not been previously announced.
Dunleavy is term-limited and will leave office in December 2026. Boyle’s departure follows those of Revenue Commissioner Adam Crum and Attorney General Treg Taylor.
The resignations of both of those men — who are now Republican candidates for governor in next year’s elections — were announced in advance, unlike Boyle’s departure.
Boyle could not be reached for comment on Monday.
The departing commissioner has extensive experience in the oil industry. Before joining Dunleavy’s cabinet in 2023, he was a lobbyist for BP and Oil Search.
Crowther, who will replace Boyle on an interim basis, has been with the Department of Natural Resources since 2012, the governor’s office said.
He previously worked as director of the governor’s Washington, D.C. office and served on the staff of the U.S. Senate’s Energy and Natural Resources Committee. He holds a law degree from Georgetown University.
“The Department of Natural Resources is at the forefront of protecting and developing Alaska’s precious land and waters. Mr. Crowther’s legal background and experience as a deputy commissioner make him a great choice to advance the responsible development, and maximum use, of Alaska’s natural resources consistent with the public interest as mandated by Alaska’s Constitution,” the governor said in a prepared statement released on Friday.
Meanwhile, stagnant wages, limited housing supply and lagging federal assistance have helped leave more than 770,000 Americans homeless.
Despite these varied reasons, Vice President JD Vance has blamed the housing affordability crisis on undocumented immigrants. In August 2025, he attributed rising housing costs to immigration: “You cannot flood the United States of America with … people who have no legal right to be here, have them compete against young American families for homes, and not expect the price to skyrocket.”
Deportations, he argued, would lower housing prices. “Why has housing leveled off over the past six months? I really believe the main driver is … negative net migration.”
From this perspective, its hard to see the administration’s deportation policy as a real effort to solve the housing crisis. Rather, it is using the housing crisis as a way to justify mass deportations to the public.
After settling in Los Angeles in 1953, Smith led Red Scare campaigns – driven by hostility to communism – across the country.
In my research, I found that Smith was an early proponent of anti-immigrant housing policy. His 10 principles included a call to “Stop immigration in order that American jobs and American houses may be safeguarded for American citizens.” Elsewhere he called to “Release housing units occupied by aliens in order that they may be occupied by veterans and other American citizens.”
Smith wasn’t alone. His efforts were part of a broader environment in which public officials and local media worked to stop construction of public housing in Los Angeles in the 1950s, accusing its proponents of communism.
Recent anti-immigrant policy in housing
State and federal policymakers have also incorporated anti-immigrant stances into American housing policy over the past half-century.
The Trump administration aims to expand restrictions on immigrants in public housing even further. The Department of Housing and Urban Development is in the process of adopting rules that will evict entire families if even one member is ineligible for assistance based on immigration status. Current law allows those families to live in public housing, while prorating their benefits to account for an ineligible member.
From Smith to Vance, anti-immigrant housing policies have been cast as a way for citizens to get more housing. But they fail to prevent or solve the housing shortage driving the crisis.
For example, the Trump administration’s effort to evict mixed status families from public housing will affect roughly 25,000 households. Setting aside the fact that those families may then be made homeless, that number is only one-tenth the amount of housing that the U.S. has lost due to the defunding and demolishing of public housing since 1990.
Studies show that deportations can reduce the housing construction workforce, which lowers the number of units built and increases costs. AP Photo/Laura Rauch
Vance, like Smith before him, presents the issue like a pie, where citizens can get a larger slice only by deporting immigrants. But the reality is that the pie can be bigger: The government can fully fund the housing needs of all Americans for less than it has spent on its other priorities. The recently passed “big, beautiful bill,” for example, allocates more funding to border and interior enforcement per year than key rental assistance programs, public housing and Housing Choice Vouchers allocate for housing.
Rahim Kurwa does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
“You will never find a nicer, more genuine person than Beef. It’s hard to even process it right now. Just another cruel reminder that tomorrow is never promised and to live each day to its fullest.”
Remembering our time with Cody Franke, PGA, at Quail Hollow,” the PGA Championship account tweeted, alongside of phoeo of Franke at the historic course.
“Our thoughts are with Cody’s family and friends,” the statement conitnued.
Cody Franke’s cause of death remains a mystery
No cause of death was given, but sources have confirmed that Franke died following a “sudden medical issue” while attending a wedding in the Dominican Republic.
Prior to joining Barstool in January of this year, Franke was the head pro at Berry Creek Country Club in Onida, Wisconsin
We will have further updates on this developing story as new information becomes available.
Our thoughts go out to Cody Franke’s loved ones during this enormously difficult time.
The determination was handed down back in July… after Diddy was convicted on charges of transporting prostitutes across state lines (although he acquitted on more serious sex trafficking and racketeering charges).
According to the Bureau of Prisons website, meanwhile, we now know the date on which the artist will be released from federal prison.
Depressing drum roll, please…
Diddy performs onstage during the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards at Prudential Center on September 12, 2023 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images for MTV)
Diddy is scheduled to be released on May 8, 2028.
He is currently incarcerated at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, but may be moved to a different location to serve out the remainder of his sentence.
Diddy has been held at this facility since he was arrested in September 2024 on charges of transportation to engage in prostitution, sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy.
The extremely polarizing celebrity pleaded not guilty to all charges and has continually denied the allegations against him.
The judge in this case has also ordered Diddy, who is subject to five years of supervised release, to pay a $500,000 fine.
New York Mayor Eric Adams presents Sean “Diddy” Combs with the keys to the city in Times Square on September 15, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images)
Throughout his sex trafficking trial, Diddy’s lawyers argued that their client’s highly-orchestrated sex acts and parties — referred to as “freak offs” and “hotel nights” by his exes Cassie Ventura and a woman who went by Jane Doe during her testimony — were consensual.
“Mr. Combs, at most, paid to engage in voyeurism as part of a ‘swingers’ lifestyle. That does not constitute ‘prostitution’ under a properly limited definition of the statutory term,” his attorneys stated in a legal filing this summer, for example.
“Even if ‘prostitution’ includes a defendant who pays to observe two other people have sex with each other, the evidence was insufficient to show that Mr. Combs had any such intent.
“The proof at trial showed that he typically hired the services of male escorts or dancers advertised openly through lawful businesses [and] that the men were paid for their time, and that they enjoyed the activities and had friendships with Ms. Ventura and Jane and were not merely traveling to have sex for money.”
Sean “Diddy” Combs attends the 2018 Fox Network Upfront at Wollman Rink, Central Park on May 14, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)
Days before Diddy’s October 3 sentencing, his lawyers asked the judge to give him a 14-month sentence followed by a supervised release with mandatory drug treatment, individual therapy and group therapy.
The attorneys alleged that Diddy “has been adequately punished by serving 13 months in the terrible conditions” at MDC.
The supposed conditions include “constant suicide watch,” as well as “limited access to clean water” and “lack of access to healthy, or edible, food.”
Sweeney has a habit of playing coy and saying only what she wants to say.
Now, however, she’s talking about her real history when it comes to plastic surgery — and what she plans to do next.
Actress Sydney Sweeney attends the “Christy” premiere during 2025 AFI FEST at TCL Chinese Theater on October 25, 2025. (Photo Credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Sydney Sweeney has ‘never gotten anything done’
In a new interview with Variety, Sydney Sweeney is opening up about changes to her body.
Famously, she gained 30 pounds to star in the Christy biopic.
A vocal group on social media — some body-shamers, some garden variety trolls — have been accusing her of getting cosmetic surgery.
But Sweeney is speaking up to clear the air.
“I’ve never gotten anything done,” she says. And it sounds like she doesn’t just mean surgery, but some popular non-surgical procedures, too.
Sydney Sweeney attends the premiere of “Christy” during the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival at Princess of Wales Theatre on September 05, 2025. (Photo Credit: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
“I’m absolutely terrified of needles,” Sweeney revealed.
That would seem to rule out things like Botox and filler injections.
“No tattoos,” she continued. “Nothing.”
Of course, that’s easy to say when you’re in your twenties and one of the most beautiful people on the planet. But she also has a plan for getting older.
“I’m going to age gracefully,” Sweeney announced.
Actress Sydney Sweeney arrives for the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards on September 14, 2025. (Photo Credit: PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)
‘Of course I’m going to look different’
From time to time, trolls will try to “prove” that Sydney Sweeney has gotten some sort of cosmetic procedure.
“It’s really funny. I’ll see things online like ‘comparison pictures,’” she described.
Sharing her reaction, Sweeney said: “I’m like, ‘I’m 12 in that photo. Of course I’m going to look different.’”
She added: “‘I have makeup on now and I’m 15 years older.’”
Sometimes, a celebrity will be “unrecognizable” due to a drastic change in their face or even just unrestrained photo-editing. But an alarming number of people seem perplexed by both makeup and natural aging.
Actress Sydney Sweeney attends the 2025 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Radhika Jones at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on March 02, 2025. (Photo Credit: Amy Sussman/Getty Images)
Later in the article, Sweeney opened up about how she selects acting roles — and she knows that it ruffles some feathers.
“I play a lot of very divisive characters,” she noted. “And I think that a lot of people think they know me, but they don’t.”
Sweeney explained: “So when people think, ‘Ah, she’s a sex symbol,’ or ‘She’s leaning into that,’ I’m like, ‘No, I just feel good and I’m doing it for myself and I feel strong.’”
She expressed: “And I hope that I can inspire other women to be confident and just flaunt what they got and feel good.”
Sweeney emphasized that she is not afraid of controversy, affirming: “Because you shouldn’t have to apologize or hide or cover up in any room.”
Sydney Sweeney attends the “Echo Valley” European Premiere at the BFI Southbank on June 10, 2025. (Photo Credit: Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images)
The discussion of her body, even as a compliment, does a disservice to her acting
Obviously, Sydney Sweeney is a tremendously talented actress.
The fact that she is very, very attractive is an asset — but also a distraction from her work. That must be frustrating!
It’s true that Sweeney could respond better to criticism at times. Not everyone is a hater dealing with internalized misogyny. Not everyone is some creepy dude.
But she’s an asset to the entertainment industry and we’ve been a fan of her work for years.
Speaking of her work, in the interview, she mused over the idea of playing a “Bond girl” — which would depend upon the script. Then she declared that she’d “have more fun” playing Bond.
Somehow, Farrah Abraham was admitted to a graduate school program last year.
But the arrangement didn’t last long, and the former Teen Mom star has now been expelled from the Master’s program at Western Governors University (WGU).
And as with everything involving Farrah, her version of events seems to be very different from what actually transpired.
Farrah Abraham attends Women in Film’s Annual Award Ceremony at The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on October 06, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)
Farrah says her political views got her expelled from school
During a recent appearance on Jeff Fargo’s Fargo Talks podcast, Farrah alleged that she was expelled for praising Donald Trump and slain podcaster Charlie Kirk on social media.
“Politics do not need to be brought into school dynamics,” Farrah argued during the interview.
“When seeing irrational, radical Left taking over in a hostile manner and then ya know, yeah, Charlie Kirk died while I’m getting a master’s [degree], of course I’m going to talk about that,” she added, according to The Ashley’s Reality Roundup.
“And that is a sad reason why I got expelled, I guess, for my beliefs and them stalking my social media and anything that I say.”
Farrah Abraham attends Debbie Durkin’s ECOLUXE Movie & TV Awards Lounge at Yamashiro Hollywood on June 03, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Debbie Durkin’s ECOLUXE Lounge)
Farrah actually got kicked out for cheating
The school’s administrators tell a very different story, alleging an “extensive pattern of unprofessional, disruptive behavior.”
Specifically, Farrah was accused of committing a “security breach” during an online exam.
In other words, she cheated.
In other words, someone in an admissions department had access to hundreds of hours of Farrah acting absolutely deranged on television, but they still gave her a chance on the assumption that she wouldn’t immediately violate each and every one of their conduct policies.
WGU is an online, “self-paced” school, and Farrah hilariously argued that they shouldn’t be allowed to expel students, as no one physically attends classes.
Then, of course, she threatened to become a lawyer so that she can sue the school.
Reality TV star Farrah Abraham debuts new “Diary of a Teen Mom” Stand Up Comedy Show at Spearmint Rhino on March 13, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Manny Carabel/Getty Images for Spearmint Rhino New York)
“How you could expel someone for their own self-paced program is against our civil rights, is against the law,” she said.
“The majority of them don’t show up to work or school, but they do show up to harm and hurt your own dreams, your own goals, and get in the way of that, which in turn, fails the mission of all universities, which is to increase your graduation rate,” Farrah continued, adding:
“I can’t wait to get my law degree because I’m on to my doctorate and I can’t wait to do pro-bono work against these universities where we’re expelling amazing students.”
With reasoning and verbal expression skills like that, who could’ve guessed that Farrah would be anything other than a straight-A student?
Farrah’s rant continued on the school’s Yelp page, where she hinted at the nature of her cheating by complaining about WGU’s stance on AI:
“This university should be fined and removed from any federal funding,” she wrote, adding:
“They are scared of [AI] because you will see their educational fraud operation running here.”
We know shady people love AI, but we’re kind of surprised that Farrah is a fan. She usually opposes all forms of intelligence!
Kailyn Lowry has undergone a great deal of plastic surgery.
This isn’t any kind of secret.
On more than one occasion, the Teen Mom alum has opened up about these decisions, even expressing remorse a few times over how frequently she went under the knife.
Via TikTok late last week, however, Lowry pointed the finger for the first time in the direction of her mom… explaining the scrutiny she felt as a child that led to all this work as an adult.
Kailyn Lowry attends the 27th Annual Webby Awards on May 15, 2023 in New York City. ((Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Webby Awards)
“I’d just like to say that I was essentially conditioned to hate myself since I was a small kid,” Lowry said to followers.
“My mom was never really impressed with me. I wasn’t girly enough, I wasn’t skinny enough, I wasn’t pretty enough, I just wasn’t what she wanted, so she was already not happy with my body and things like that, which obviously led me to not be happy with my body.”
Lowry has said in the past that she’s long had a strained relationship with her mom due to the latter’s alcoholism.
Kailyn Lowry has no regrets about her time on Teen Mom. (MTV)
During this recent segment, Lowry went on to state she “got the opportunity” to go under the knife with Dr. Miami in 2016…. during which she had a tummy tuck, Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) and Lipo360… all of which she believed made up “the opportunity of a lifetime.”
In hindsight, though, Kailyn says she maybe should have waited until she was done having kids.
The mother of seven also underwent a breast reduction, Lipo360 and a second tummy tuck in December.
She’s also had at least one other breast surgery and other minor procedures and, as she reminded followers on TikTok, she most recently had her “double chin cut off.“
Kailyn Lowry attends the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall on August 20, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images for MTV)
“I just feel like, if I can fix something I don’t like, why not?” Kailyn went on last week. “But also in the same breath, I’m like, I don’t want my daughter to feel like she needs to fix anything. But at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what other people say, it’s how you feel about yourself.”
Lowry also acknowledges that growing up in front of the camera opened her up to a lot of criticism and has made life challenging.
“People are so fc-king mean,” she said, seemingly referring to the negative comments she’s received over the years, adding:
“I will say, ‘OK, I did get this done or I didn’t get this done’ and people will still say that I got stuff done that I didn’t get done. So I don’t know why I’m transparent when you guys don’t f-cking listen anyways.”
