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Day: May 19, 2026
Here comes the pride.
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By: James Brooks, Alaska Beacon
New parents in Alaska would be eligible for up to 12 weeks of state-paid leave starting in 2030 under a bill approved Saturday by the Alaska House of Representatives.
If signed into law, House Bill 193 would require the state to pay certain working parents up to $524 per week for up to 12 weeks starting in 2030 after a birth or adoption in the state.
Money for the benefit would come from the state’s existing unemployment insurance fund.
Despite widespread support in the House, the bill on Monday appeared unlikely to pass through the Capitol before the end of the regular legislative session on Wednesday. An initial hearing in the Senate Finance Committee, necessary before a vote in the Senate, was canceled as lawmakers instead devoted their time to a proposed tax break for the planned trans-Alaska natural gas pipeline.
“I cannot stress the importance of creating a paid parental leave program for Alaskans. It is a massive step in the right direction and a tremendous opportunity for our working families in Alaska,” said Rep. Carolyn Hall, D-Anchorage and the bill’s sponsor.
The bill would also increase the state’s maximum unemployment benefit from $370 to $524 per week starting in 2028 and adjust the figure for inflation afterward. Money from the state’s unemployment tax would also be designated for vocational training.
The bill does not increase the unemployment tax to pay for these changes — fund administrators say the unemployment fund is currently overfunded and can support the changes through at least 2040.
The Alaska House of Representatives voted 36-4 on Saturday to approve HB 193 and send it to the Senate for consideration.
A late amendment to HB 193 also would immediately eliminate paid sick leave — installed via a 2024 ballot measure — for many state workers.
Hall, speaking before the House passed the bill, said “a number of compromises” were needed to pass the bill.
“A previous version of the bill had up to 26 weeks of paid leave contemplated. And as a conservative measure, that was reduced down to between eight and 12 weeks,” Hall said. “We also reduced the weekly benefit in a previous version of this bill. The weekly benefit was going to be $817 a week. That has now been reduced to $524 a week. And that applies for (unemployment insurance) and for paid parental leave,” Hall said.
Supporters said the bill is necessary to make Alaska an attractive place for young workers and parents to live.
Though the parental benefits envisioned in Alaska are far less than those in other states and other developed countries, legislators said they still represented a step forward.
“We’ll never be Norway. … we’re not going to give three years’ salary to both parents so that they can stay with that child and give them the nurturing that they need. But we are going to give this little bit,” said Rep. Alyse Galvin, I-Anchorage.
If HB 193 is adopted, parental leave would be available to workers who have been at their employer for at least 13 weeks. Seasonal employees would not be eligible. Parents would have to use the leave before their child turns one year old, or within one year of an adoption.
Foster parents would not be eligible for the benefit, and benefits do not stack — if an employer offers something similar or better, the worker could not receive the state benefit.
The number of weeks of parental leave would be subject to the amount of money available in the parental leave fund. The state could offer as few as eight weeks or as many as 12.
Rep. Jamie Allard, R-Eagle River voted against the bill, saying the state “would be better served pushing for a voluntary framework: Tax incentives for employers who offer leave or a much narrower and fiscally bounded program, rather than this broad expansion of the state’s payroll tax and benefit apparatus.”
Rep. Rebecca Schwanke, R-Glennallen and another opponent, said she believes the leave plan will burden small businesses.
Rep. Julie Coulombe, R-Anchorage, voted in favor of the bill. She said she remembers having to go back to work within three weeks of having a child.
“I cried all the way there and all the way back,” she said.
“Maybe (the benefits are) not as long as other states’, but I think this is a step in the right direction,” Coulombe said.
Rep. Andy Barr won Kentucky’s Republican Senate primary on Tuesday, after being boosted in the testy contest by President Donald Trump’s endorsement.
Barr will be the heavy favorite to succeed Sen. Mitch McConnell in deep-red Kentucky.
The Lexington-area representative defeated former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, who won the gubernatorial primary in 2023 but lost to Gov. Andy Beshear. His third statewide campaign was his first without institutional backing from McConnell, who Cameron criticized throughout his campaign.
Barr also fended off a well-funded challenge from Nate Morris, an entrepreneur who carried endorsements from Charlie Kirk and Donald Trump Jr. and received financial support from Elon Musk. Morris sharply attacked McConnell and ridiculed Barr and Cameron — who both have ties to McConnell — as the senator’s “puppets.” His allies spent millions in TV ads lambasting Barr for being soft on immigration and not sufficiently aligned with Trump’s agenda.
But Morris’ flamethrowing campaign fizzled out in the final months of the race, and he ultimately dropped out, with Trump promising to nominate him for an unspecified ambassadorship.
The race to earn Trump’s endorsement, which Kentucky Republican officials said would all but predetermine the primary’s outcome in the deep-red state, saw each candidate tout their loyalties to the president while distancing themselves from both McConnell and Rep. Thomas Massie — two Trump enemies on opposite wings of the party.
But unlike Cameron and Morris, Barr’s criticisms of McConnell were relatively measured — which kept Barr in the good graces of Kentucky GOP donors and political operatives who still hold the longtime Senate Republican leader in high regard.
Those relationships appeared to pay off: Barr cemented a polling lead and fundraising advantage by April, paving the way for Trump to endorse.
“I know Andy well, and he is always a Vote we can count on because he knows what it takes to GET THINGS DONE and, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN,” Trumpwrote on social media on Monday.
Barr will likely face off against either former state Rep. Charles Booker or former Marine Amy McGrath, the two Democrats who lost the last two Senate races in the state, in November. Even in a year that’s expected to have tough political headwinds for Republicans, Barr will be the favorite.
Politics
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NASCAR Hall of Fame (Charlotte, N.C.) — A driver known as a throwback to the rough-and-tumble days of NASCAR will join many of those who embraced a similar style who already are in the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Former Cup champion and current FOX Sports analyst Kevin Harvick will be among the three inductees of the 2027 class as the 60-time Cup winner also earned the distinction as a first-ballot Hall of Famer. “I’ve been told a few times in the NASCAR trailer [that] this sport will go on with or without you, so you can either get it straight or you can keep going, and that’s true,” Harvick told me and other reporters following the announcement. “Everybody’s career ultimately comes to an end, and the things that you do are what they were, and so to be able to have accomplished enough to be standing here today, I feel pretty fortunate because I had a lot of good people, a lot of good cars, and a lot of great moments to be able to have the success that we did. It’s quite an honor to be able to stand in here and have your name next to so many of the greats in our sport.” Harvick, Jeff Burton and Larry Phillips — all three heralded drivers in their careers — will be enshrined in the Jan. 22 ceremony, joining the 70 other inductees since the Hall of Fame opened in 2010. Harvick and Burton, who were teammates at one point at Richard Childress Racing, were the two selections from the 10-candidate Modern Era ballot, while Midwest short-track star Phillips got in as the selection from the five-candidate Pioneer Era ballot. A voting panel of 49 industry executives, former drivers and crew chiefs and media met Tuesday to deliberate and vote. An online fan vote was combined into one vote, to make for 50 on the panel. Harvick appeared on 46 of the 50 ballots, Phillips on 19 and Burton was on 16. Neil Bonnett was third in the Modern Era voting, followed by Randy Dorton and Greg Biffle. When told he earned 92 percent of the vote, Harvick seemed appreciative. “When you look at just the grand scheme of everything, you look at the whole Hall of Fame piece of it, and you talk about your reputation, and you talk about the respect, I think that speaks volumes of the things that you were able to accomplish,” Harvick said. “And I can say it now: I’m proud of that. That’s what this is for, right? You get to reflect back and be proud of the things that you were able to accomplish.” There was little doubt Harvick — dubbed “The Closer” because of the way he could win races with strong runs to the finish — would get in as his 60 Cup victories ranks 11th all-time and the most for any driver not in the Hall of Fame who is eligible. He also ranks fifth all-time in top-10 finish with 444. The 2014 Cup champion, Harvick has also won titles in what is now the O’Reilly Series in 2001 and 2006. He also won the 2007 Daytona 500 and was named one of NASCAR’s 75 greatest drivers. While virtually a given he would get in, Harvick sat in his truck outside the Hall of Fame during the announcement. “It’s been really weird,” Harvick said about how to handle the announcement. “It felt so arrogant to come sit in the room [for the announcement]. I’ve never been somebody who wants to pat myself on the back or show that you’re so confident in something that you’re doing. “I want to be respectful and I want it to be so that it feels right, and I don’t want anybody to think that you take it for granted.” Beyond the on-track statistics, he helped the sport through one of its most high-profile tragedies as he replaced Dale Earnhardt after the seven-time Cup champion’s death in the 2021 Daytona 500. Harvick was supposed to go full-time Cup racing the following year but instead drove the No. 29 car for Richard Childress Racing, which was renumber from Earnhardt’s No. 3. He won in his third career start at Atlanta. But Harvick’s resume doesn’t just include victories, championships and a FOX microphone. He and his wife, DeLana, owned the Kevin Harvick Inc. race team that competed in both trucks and the O’Reilly Series. He currently is a co-owner in the CARS Tour and involved in promoting the racetrack in his hometown of Bakersfield. The California native brought a stern determination built when racing the West Coast short tracks. He was demanding and relentless in the way he drove and the way he interacted with his own team and other teams. He has often said that when he struggled, he’d have to create drama to stay relevant, and his highlight reel is full of intense confrontations between him and other drivers. “Your reputation is first thing that you have, the second thing are your results, and ultimately, hopefully, whether I was high strung or competitive or rambunctious, or the guy that everybody didn’t like or liked, or whoever it was, hopefully they can still respect you,” Harvick said. “I think from the competition side, from the ownership side, from whatever that is, you might not like my opinion or you might not like what I did on the racetrack, but hopefully in the end you respect it.”Latest Sports News from FOX Sports