Here we are again, Alaska.
We still lead the country in proving how voting could work — and our ranked-choice voting system gives independent politics a real fighting chance. A two-party, winner-take-all system ensures that each side has every reason to demonize the other.
With ranked-choice voting, parties are incentivized to work with each other and cross lines to court independent thinking and swing voters, not just the base. This matters. In 2022, more than…
The pads are on at training camp for all 32 teams across the NFL, but transactions continue to dominate the headlines early on in practice season. Wednesday gave us another update in Aaron Donald’s potential return to football, with the most recent bit of news suggesting that he might be on the precipice of rejoining the Los Angeles Rams. Elsewhere, Stefon Diggs found his next professional home after being a free agent for the last few months, and the Detroit Lions general manager provided some insight on extension negotiations with star running back Jahmyr Gibbs. Here are all the headlines you need to know from Wednesday around the NFL. Two years after walking away from the game, Aaron Donald might be ready to put the pads back on. The former All-Pro defensive tackle officially worked out with the Los Angeles Rams Wednesday, per the NFL Wire. Donald wanted to do a workout in a football helmet, even though he did not wear pads during it, according to ESPN. He ended up using the Rams’ team equipment at their facility during training camp, requiring them to report his activity to the NFL. A league source recently told our Erc D. Williams that Donald was leaning toward returning. However, Los Angeles hasn’t given Donald a date he has to make a decision. If Donald unretires, he’ll join arguably the most talented defense in the NFL. The defensive line already features two-time Defensive Player of the Year winner Myles Garrett, Byron Young, Kobie Turner, Braden Fiske and Poona Ford to go with a secondary that has cornerbacks Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson. Wide receiver Stefon Diggs reportedly agreed to a one-year contract worth up to $12 million with the Washington Commanders. Diggs spent last season with the New England Patriots, recording 85 receptions for 1,013 yards and four touchdowns across 17 games during their Super Bowl run. The four-time Pro Bowl wide receiver, who was a key contributor during New England’s run to the Super Bowl last season, provides Daniels and the Commanders with another target out wide along with Terry McLaurin. Prior to the signing, Washington needed another receiver following the departure of Deebo Samuel, who recently rejoined the San Francisco 49ers. There was some speculation that the team could go after 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk if he became available. Now, Washington has some stability after McLaurin in a wide receiver room that includes Dyami Brown, Luke McCaffrey, Treylon Burks and third-round rookie Antonio Williams. Houston Texans wide receiver Tank Dell returned to the practice field in a limited capacity Wednesday, participating in padded practice drills for the first time since December 2024. Dell missed the entire 2025 season after sustaining multiple torn knee ligaments and a dislocated kneecap in late 2024. He ran routes and caught passes from quarterback C.J. Stroud during individual work Wednesday. Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans said his recovery plan is unchanged and he expects Dell to continue his program as scheduled. Dell has totals of 1,376 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns over 25 career games as he formed a strong connection with Stroud in their rookie seasons back in 2023. When Atlanta Falcons star Bijan Robinson reset the running back market with his historic extension, he didn’t just secure his own future, but he started a ticking clock in Detroit. Now, all eyes turn to Jahmyr Gibbs and his potential extension with the Lions. Speaking with SiriusXM NFL Radio on Wednesday, Lions general manager Brad Holmes gave an update on where negotiations stand with Gibbs. “We love Jahmyr,” Holmes said. “Me and Dan [Quinn] have always been believers in that one-two punch. I just think that’s kind of how the league is going now and we’re having dialogue. We’ll see where it goes.” Gibbs has been one of the NFL’s premier playmakers since coming into the league. Despite sharing a workload in Detroit’s backfield, he has compiled 3,580 rushing yards and 39 touchdowns, while adding 181 receptions for 1,449 yards and another 10 scores through the air. Robinson’s three-year, $75 million deal gives both sides a baseline for negotiations. That contract made Robinson the highest-paid running back in NFL history, a title Gibbs could soon claim. Whether Gibbs receives a similar payout remains to be seen, but as long as his camp hold-in continues, all pressure rests on the Lions front office. The San Francisco 49ers’ injury bug continues to bite during training camp this year. On Wednesday, the team was missing over 20% of its roster, with plenty of key faces not suiting up for practice, per The Athletic. Several key players have been added to the injury report, according to ESPN. Nick Bosa and Dre Greenlaw are dealing with soreness, Kyle Juszczyk has a broken finger, Jacob Cowing is managing a hip flexor strain and Carver Willis is in concussion protocol. Brett Toth is dealing with an undisclosed injury, while head coach Kyle Shanahan remains limited as he works his way back to the sidelines full-time.Latest Sports News from FOX Sports
Volunteers are circulating a ballot initiative petition this week to reduce the senior
property tax exemption from $300,000 to $200,000.
Reducing this exemption is necessary in order for our government to fully fund essential
services without depleting our town’s savings. If 297 signatures are gathered by Aug. 12, voters will have the opportunity to decide this matter in the October municipal election.
A Haines voter initiative in 2024 that increased the senior property tax exemption…
My motto was “Fill the Barn” and we did just that for the 2026 Southeast Alaska State Fair. It wasn’t just me though. I wish there was room here to print the names on my list of more than 60 people who joined in the fun of building pens, hutches, cages, painted fences, and cared for the animals, as well as those who sponsored this project, and the animal owners who trusted us with their…
Some grocery stores may offer hot food, but only this New York chain accompanies its fresh eats with suit-clad singers belting out Sinatra from the aisles.
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Liquor and liqueurs each carry unique traditions of production and consumption – and these two distinct drink styles offer plenty to unpack.
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Tarik Skubal is a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers. But the Dodgers are reeling. Following a 7-6 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday afternoon, the Dodgers have now lost six consecutive games. They also lost Skubal’s debut in Dodger blue on Tuesday night and are going through their longest losing streak of the season. Furthermore, the Dodgers (69-46) have lost 15 of their last 25 games and have been knocked off the pedestal by the Milwaukee Brewers (70-43) for the best record in both the National League and MLB altogether. What gives? Colin Cowherd, for one, thinks this dry spell is exposing the Dodgers as a flawed club. “Stop staring at the paint job. Look under the hood: the Dodgers are a mess,” Cowherd asserted on Wednesday’s edition of “The Herd.” “The Skubal acquisition was much more life-raft than adding a helipad to the yacht. … The Dodgers have bullpen issues and age issues.” As for some of the struggling bats, star shortstop Mookie Betts is having arguably the worst offensive year of his MLB career. He entered the team’s Wednesday afternoon game against the Cubs with a .223/.280/.390 slash line. Right fielder Kyle Tucker, who the Dodgers signed to a four-year, $240 million deal in the offseason, entered Wednesday with a career-low in batting average (.243), slugging percentage (.381) and OPS+ (101); center fielder Andy Pages — who blasted 10 home runs, drove in 39 runs and boasted a .304/.357/.530 slash line over his first 46 games this season — entered the day with a .245/.318/.405 slash line over his last 67 games. Over the last 30 days, the Dodgers are 20th in MLB in runs (93), tied for 21st in on-base percentage (.306), tied for 17th in home runs (26), tied for 15th in slugging percentage (.399) and 12th outright in hits (196). Meanwhile, on the rotation front, left-hander Blake Snell has made one start this season due to shoulder and elbow injuries; right-hander Tyler Glasnow has been limited to seven starts due to a back injury; second-year starter Roki Sasaki has struggled to turn a corner, finding difficulty in finishing off hitters and sporting a 4.64 ERA and an 89 ERA+. In the bullpen, closer Edwin Díaz, whom the Dodgers signed to a three-year, $69 million deal in the offseason, recently returned from a roughly three-month absence due to elbow surgery; as a collective, Los Angeles is 16th in the sport in bullpen ERA (4.08) and has blown 16 save opportunities. “This team is winning on the margins the last two years, and now they’re broken,” Cowherd said. As for their championship success in recent memory, the Dodgers were just the third seed in the NL playoffs last season. They trailed the Toronto Blue Jays 3-2 in the World Series and 4-2 in the eighth inning of Game Seven before pulling off the series comeback. Still, Los Angeles is seeking to become the first MLB team to three-peat as World Series champions since the New York Yankees did so from 1998-2000.Latest Sports News from FOX Sports
It’s a big deal for a restaurant’s menu item to be considered one of the top fast food chicken releases of the year. That honor was bestowed upon this chain.
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Fired federal workers formerly with the U.S. Forest Service based at the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau speak at the Alaska State Capito; on March 21, 2025, about their experiences. The Forest Service was among the federal agencies in Alaska most heavily affected by job cuts. (Photo by Corinne Smith/Alaska Beacon)
Alaska lost a higher percentage of its federal workforce last year than almost all U.S. states to sweeping Trump administration cuts, according to a newly published analysis by the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
By the end of 2025, Alaska’s federal workforce was 10.5% smaller than it had been at the end of the prior year, according to the analysis, published in Alaska Economic Trends, the monthly magazine of the department’s research section. In the fourth quarter of 2025, after many workers accepted buyouts or early retirement, the state’s federal workforce had dropped by 1,607 from the total in the fourth quarter of 2024, to 13,767 from 15,374 the year prior, according to the analysis.
The job losses came through mass firings and cuts made by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, the government-reducing campaign led by trillionaire Elon Musk that started shortly after Donald Trump took office for his second term. To a large extent, job losses were concentrated at the end of the year.
Calculated by the annual average, Alaska lost about 4.5% of its federal jobs in 2025. Only Maryland, which lost 6.5% of its federal jobs, and New Mexico, which lost 5.8% of its federal jobs, lost more.
Federal job losses reduced Alaska’s total earnings by $36.5 million on average in 2025, according to the Department of Labor and Workforce Development analysis, and they brought federal employment in Alaska to the lowest level since at least 1990.
Much of the cutting in Alaska came in the U.S. Department of Defense’s civilian workforce. Calculated by annual average, 340 defense related jobs were lost to the DOGE cuts, but the fourth-quarter loss was calculated at 755 jobs.
The large amount of job losses in the Department of Defense category was a bit surprising, said Karinne Wiebold, the state labor economist who wrote the Trends article. “I assumed early on that the DoD might be one of the less affected departments and that our strong military presence might insulate us,” she said by email.
Federal agencies that sustained high numbers of job losses included the U.S. Forest Service, which had 180 fewer employees at the end of 2025 than in late 2024, the Bureau of Land Management, which had lost 133 jobs at the end of the year, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which had lost 101 of its workers by the end of 2025.
Job losses in the Forest Service and NOAA have affected important Alaska industries and services, including fishery science, weather forecasting, scientific research and tourism.
The fallout from the job losses continues, and the public does not yet have a complete picture, Wiebold said. “I do think the public is aware of the federal job losses and that they have been deep and a bit unpredictable,” she said. “I don’t know if the public generally understands what the ramifications of the cuts will be — federal employees perform a wide variety of oftentimes highly specialized work.”
Certain parts of the state were harder hit than others. The Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, which has been reliant on military-related employment, and parts of Southeast Alaska, where employment related to the Tongass National Forest is important, are among those regions with steeper job losses by percentage, according to the analysis.
Alaska’s ranking among states hit by DOGE-related job cuts could change, Wiebold said. Data from this year has yet to be fully analyzed, she said. “Even in the first parts of 2026, there are reports of the rankings shifting somewhat,” she said.
You may have noticed that your refrigerator has something called Sabbath mode (your dishwasher may have this too). This is what it means and what it does.
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