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University of Alaska Southeast researchers, seen in this undated photo, prepare to use a drone to map the basin where floods originate at Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau. (Photo provided by the University of Alaska Southeast)
Every summer, people living near the Mendenhall River in Juneau, Alaska, keep a close eye on the water level. When the river level begins to rise rapidly, it’s a sign that Suicide Basin, a small glacier-dammed lake 5 miles up the mountains, has broken through the glacier again and a glacial lake outburst flood is underway.
After nearly 15 straight years of ever-larger and more damaging floods in Alaska’s capital city, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers even discussed an ambitious and expensive solution: a permanent drain from the lake that would prevent it from reaching outburst stage.
The initial cost estimates for the project ranged from US$613 million to $1 billion.
Suicide Basin is just one example of a growing problem from glacial lakes that threaten communities around the world, particularly in the Himalayas and Andes, and is transforming Alaska’s landscape as global temperatures rise.
In a new study, colleagues and I documented the evolution of 140 of the largest glacial lakes in Alaska between 2018 and 2024. We found they are expanding about 120% faster on average today than they were from 1986 to 1999 – more than twice as fast.
Using ice thickness data to reconstruct the shape of the land beneath these glaciers, we found that these glacial lakes could become more than four times larger than they are today as the glaciers melt, increasing the potential for damage to downstream ecosystems and infrastructure from glacial lake outburst floods.
The hazards of glacial lakes
Glacial lakes, often the color of aquamarine gems and sparkling with icebergs, are common around the margins of glaciers around the world. Years of satellite images have documented a dramatic increase in their number, area and volume – a direct response to glaciers retreating as global temperatures rise.
Tenuously held back by moraines – the jumble of rock and sediment deposited by glaciers at their edges – or dammed by glacier ice, these lakes are anything but stable.
Between 1985 and 2020, ice-dammed lakes in Alaska alone broke through their barriers and drained more than 1,150 times. Alaska’s vast landscape and low population density means that the impact of these drainages on human infrastructure was fairly minimal, with a few notable exceptions, including Suicide Basin and Snow Lake, on the Kenai Peninsula.
However, the enormous amount of icy water rushing down rivers with each outburst can transform ecosystems, altering river channels through erosion and sediment deposition, tearing out trees and other vegetation, and damaging fish habitat.
A recent study found that glacial lake outburst floods from moraine-dammed lakes are occurring at an accelerating rate. In the steep, narrow valleys of the Himalayan Mountains, the impact of these events are acute: destroyed hydropower stations, roads and entire villages wiped away, taking hundreds of lives over the years.
More than 15 million people globally live in areas at risk of glacial lake outburst floods. Mapping where these lakes might form and expand can help people living downstream prepare. That’s what we did in Alaska.
Mapping Alaska’s expanding lakes
Glacial lakes can form in a variety of settings: on the surface of glaciers, in side valleys, and at the terminus, or toe, of the glacier. We found that the fastest-growing lakes are those at the toe, and in our work, we showed that many of these lakes reside in deep depressions carved by glacial flow.
We mapped these depressions – known as glacial-bed overdeepenings – by subtracting ice thickness estimates from surface elevations measured by satellites.
We found that more than 80% of the lake growth has occurred in the mapped basins, illustrating how this approach can help locate glacial lakes that are likely to form and expand in the future.
With this information, we found that existing glacial lakes in the region may ultimately expand fourfold, growing by as much as 1,640 square miles (4,250 square kilometers). A glacial lake at the terminus of Malaspina Glacier, the largest glacier by area in southeast Alaska, could expand to cover an additional 570 square miles (1,475 square kilometers) alone. That would create what would be the second-largest lake in Alaska.
As glaciers continue to retreat, new basins will be exposed, many of which could fill with water. In total, more than 5,500 square miles (about 14,200 square kilometers) of overdeepened basins exist in Alaska, pointing to a landscape that is going to look very different in the coming decades to centuries.
When a glacier terminates in a lake, the warmth of the water can speed up the ice’s melting, making the glacier flow faster, thin and retreat, thereby expanding the size of the lake. We found that glaciers that terminate in lakes are shrinking 23% to 56% faster than land-terminating glaciers.
The future as glaciers retreat
Future climate projections combined with sophisticated glacier models indicate that glaciers will cumulatively retreat by 26% to 41% by 2100, spelling the loss of 49% to 83% of all glaciers globally.
This is concerning for numerous reasons. Glacier mass loss is currently the largest contributor to sea-level rise. Melting glaciers also change the water quantity and timing of ice melt that feed major rivers, particularly Asian rivers such as the Indus and Ganges. And they create hazards, such as the outburst floods that originate from glacial lakes.
The landscapes that we know and love are transforming before our eyes, and with these changes come growing concerns about hazards.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Winning the very first season of American Idol was supposed to come with some pretty nice perks.
According to Kelly Clarkson, however, at least two of those perks never actually materialized.
Which is — not ideal.
During the latest episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show, Clarkson revealed that the reality competition never delivered the prizes that were advertised when she won the series back in 2002.
Specifically, Kelly says she did not receive the $1 million prize that viewers believed the winner would take home.
Because, producers explained, that wasn’t really the prize. Apparently, Ms. Clarkson failed to read the fine print.
(Yes, Kelly recently announced that she’s ending her talk show, so she might be feeling more honest than usual these days.)
While discussing reality show winnings with The Traitors fan favorite Rob Rausch, Kelly revealed that producers don’t always deliver on their promises.
“They were like, ‘Oh, you win a million dollars,’ or whatever. No, you didn’t. They lied. It was like a million dollars’ worth of investment in you,” she recalled (via Page Six).
According to Clarkson, the promised “million dollars” was actually a million dollars’ worth of investment in her career, rather than a literal check.
So yes — technically a million dollars. Just not the kind you can put in your bank account.
And that wasn’t the only disappointment.
Clarkson also says she was promised a brand-new car after winning the competition. But that never showed up either.
At the time, the singer says she desperately needed one because her own vehicle had been damaged — and she couldn’t afford the deductible to fix it.
“They said you get a car. And I needed it because my car was bashed in, and I couldn’t afford the deductible. And then — no! I did not get a car,” Kelly explained.
Needless to say, the missing car still stings. Especially after Clarkson later learned that Season 2 runner-up Clay Aiken received a vehicle.
Actually, two vehicles — one for him, and one for his mom.
“I was like, what the f—?” Clarkson joked while recalling the moment she found out.
The revelation came after Rausch mentioned that he’s still waiting to receive the prize money from his own reality show victory.
It’s a situation Clarkson can sadly relate to. So maybe Rob shouldn’t hold his breath.
Of course, it’s worth noting that Clarkson’s career turned out just fine despite the questionable prize package.
After winning American Idol, she went on to become one of the show’s most successful alumni, scoring numerous hit singles, multiple Grammy Awards, and a long-running daytime talk show.
Still, a free car probably would have been nice. Just sayin’!
Kelly Clarkson Says ‘American Idol’ Stiffed Her, Failed to Deliver $1 Million … was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.
The Hollywood Gossip
NOTN- Alaska lawmakers considered a wide-ranging elections bill today that supporters say would expand voter access and strengthening election security.
The House Finance Committee scheduled hearings on Monday as well as this morning on Senate Bill 64, a measure covering a broad range of election policies, including voter registration, campaign rules and election administration.
The bill would create a ballot curing process which would allow absentee voters to fix mistakes like missing signatures.
According to testimony submitted to lawmakers, more than 1,300 ballots were rejected in 2024, many due to correctable issues like improper witness signatures.
The proposed bill would also require the state to create an online ballot-tracking system so voters can see when their ballot is sent, received and counted. The bill includes prepaid postage for absentee ballots to improve access for voters, especially for voters in rural communities.
The bill also calls for a rural community liaison within the Division of Elections to work with tribes and municipalities to improve early and absentee voting access in remote areas.
Supporters, including the League of Women Voters of Alaska, Alaska Voter Hub and the Alaska Federation of Natives say the reforms are necessary because of Alaska’s geography and the challenges rural voters face with mail service, staffing shortages and limited polling locations.
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Bunnie Xo’s Life Is About To Become a Movie
Next question: who should play Bunnie Xo in her biopic? Continue reading…Country Music News – Taste of Country
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Bunnie Xo’s Life Is About To Become a Movie
Next question: who should play Bunnie Xo in her biopic? Continue reading…The Boot – Country Music News, Music Videos and Songs
Retired Super Bowl champ Jason Kelce pointed to a holiday treat made by his mom as a worthy inclusion in his hypothetical last meal. Brother Travis might agree.
Mashed – Fast Food, Celebrity Chefs, Grocery, Reviews
As spring football is off and running for college programs, college and NFL fans alike also have their attention turned toward the 2026 NFL Draft, hosted this year by Pittsburgh on April 23-25. In this week’s Let’s Debate, our college football experts are examining both spring football and next year’s NFL Draft. So before spring football ends with finalized rosters for next season and before 2027 NFL mock drafts are ever-present, we’re examining which college players have the most to prove this season and which players might be off the board first in 2027. Which player has the most to prove to his program this season? RJ Young: Darian Mensah, Miami QB Mensah breached his contract with Duke, made a mess that needed to be settled outside of court, only to walk into a program as the presumed starter at Miami, where the acts he follows include a former No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft and the first quarterback to lead the Hurricanes to the national title game since Ken Dorsey 25 years ago. Mensah led Duke to its first ACC title in 36 years, and he has developed into one of the better quarterbacks in the country. But with this being his third stop and the second where he has made headlines — first for signing a two-year, $8 million contract and second for breaking it — he can’t afford to play poorly in 2026 both for Miami’s sake and for the sake of his NFL Draft stock next season. Michael Cohen: Makhi Hughes, Houston RB Around this time last year, Hughes was one of the hotter names in college football after his headline-grabbing transfer from Tulane to Oregon. He’d put together back-to-back 1,300-yard seasons for the Green Wave in 2023 and 2024, twice earning first-team All-AAC honors, to entrench himself as one of the best young tailbacks in the country. When he entered the portal last winter and subsequently committed to Oregon, it was presumed that the Ducks were landing the future bell cow in their backfield. But it never quite worked for Hughes at Oregon. He was unable to carve out a role in a talented backfield spearheaded by Noah Whittington, Jordon Davison and Dierre Hill Jr., never tallying another carry after the win over Oregon State on Sept. 20. It was no surprise when Hughes announced his intention to enter the portal a second time, and now he’ll have to work his way back to prominence at Houston. [NFL DRAFT: Fernando Mendoza Leads QBs in Top 100 on Big Board] Which player would you select first in the 2027 NFL Draft: Jeremiah Smith or Arch Manning? Young: Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State WR, and it’s not close. Only one of these players has proven he’s a generational talent at his position, emerging as the best true freshmen since Trevor Lawrence at Clemson in 2018 to lead his team to the national title. Only one of these players has repeatedly dismantled his opposition in one-on-one battles, beaten double teams and helped swing the balance of power from the SEC to the Big Ten — the league that is home to the last three national champions. The stats for Smith are there with back-to-back seasons with more than 1,200 receiving yards, leading the Big Ten in 2024 and 2025. But more important is the ability to change the fortunes of an NFL franchise with one selection. Cohen: Arch Manning, Texas QB Even though all signs point toward Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith likely having a better pro career than Texas quarterback Arch Manning — the words “generational talent” continue to be thrown around when people discuss the Buckeye great — the latter is a far more logical choice, given the unparalleled impact of his position in the modern game. There’s a reason why the last wide receiver to be selected No. 1 overall was Keyshawn Johnson in 1996. And there’s a reason why 21 of the ensuing 29 top overall picks were quarterbacks. No matter how talented, how explosive, how indescribably unique any non-quarterback might be, they’ll never influence winning and losing as directly as a team’s signal-caller. Selecting Manning at No. 1 overall, while risky, at least gives a general manager the opportunity to unearth a truly franchise-altering player. The same just can’t be said for a wide receiver — even one as phenomenal as Smith. In Let’s Debate, our experts tackle and explain the hot-button issues fans care about.Latest Sports News from FOX Sports
ARLINGTON, Texas — It’s typical to hear lots of screaming inside Jerry’s World during Dallas Cowboys football games. This weekend, there will be the scream of INDYCAR engines around AT&T Stadium (home of the Cowboys) and Globe Life Stadium (home of the Texas Rangers) as drivers navigate a 2.73-mile course for the first time in series history. There are 14 turns — nine right-handers and five left-handers. The inaugural Java House Grand Prix of Arlington (noon ET, FOX) will present a challenge as no driver has experience on the course. It will also present an event with the marketing and branding force of the Cowboys behind it. Here’s what to know about the race. New INDYCAR Arlington Start Time The original start time for the Java House Grand Prix of Arlington was 12:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, but INDYCAR moved the time up to noon ET in anticipation of weather. FOX’s race coverage will begin at 11:30 a.m. ET. How Will Drivers Prepare? Typically, the drivers practice and determine setups in a simulator where the track surface has been scanned and then the data is supplemented from what teams learn on a race weekend. But there have been no scans of this track’s surface. So the simulator track is determined through GPS. That makes it difficult to recognize bumps. And until the walls were placed in the last few weeks, no one really knew their exact location. [POWER RANKINGS: Who is on top heading into Arlington?] Alexander Rossi, driver of the No. 20 car for ECR, answered my question during a Zoom this week on just how little he knows from the simulator. “The track scans are very high quality, but for a place like this that’s brand new, you don’t have a full surface scan,” Rossi said. “You only have essentially a GPS scan with walls kind of placed around the perimeter. “Both Honda and Chevy have kind of the same track model, so you don’t have any sort of the bumps modeled or grip differential depending on surfaces.” So how does it help? “It’s a great tool to at least know what corner comes next,” Rossi said. “But in terms of brake points and grip levels, how fast you can actually go, the line, where bumps are, that sort of thing — everyone will be figuring that out together kind of starting from zero.” What Else Can They Do To Prepare? Pato O’Ward, driver of the No. 5 car for Arrow McLaren, said he never even got a chance to do the simulator. But some fans have posted online laps on YouTube from what they’ve been able to create. “I’m curious to see what it’s going to be all about, and I do think it’s going to be a little chaotic,” O’Ward said. “People are going to be getting creative. They’re going to stuff their nose where they shouldn’t, and it’s going to create roadblocks.” What Is Unique About This Course? Most of the street circuits are shorter ones, typically around 2 miles. This one is the longest for INDYCAR at 2.73 miles. The other street courses: Markham (2.19 miles), Long Beach (1.968), St. Petersburg (1.8), Washington (1.66) and Detroit (1.645). That makes this one a little more unique in that they will be doing laps of around 90 seconds instead of 50 seconds. There are enough viewing areas that give a look at multiple track locations that fans shouldn’t feel as if they are waiting forever for the cars to come by. “[The short courses are] not very interesting for the fans,” Arrow McLaren No. 7 car driver Christian Lundgaard told me. “It’s certainly not interesting for us as drivers. We aren’t really enjoying the layout of the track. And I think here we will. “And I think that’s the big difference is this is actually exciting. And I think what the promoters and the series have done for this place is it’s not just a race, it’s a venue, and everything that follows around is what will make the difference.” Rigorous Schedule Last year, the 2025 season kicked off in St. Petersburg and then had two races over the next eight weeks. This year, it is opening with three races in back-to-back-to-back weeks — St. Petersburg, Phoenix and now Arlington. [INSIDE THE GARAGE: Team Penske Relishes Phoenix Sweep] It makes for some road-weary crew members, but at least there is a feeling of momentum. “I think what’s more draining, from a mental and just energy standpoint, is traveling around is what really drains you,” Lundgaard said. “The work doesn’t stop. And I think at the end of the year, that’s when you really feel it. “But I’m just excited to be here and put on a show.” Are These The Same Cars As Phoenix? Kind of. The front wing and rear wing are different for road and street courses than they are for the ovals. Teams also would use different dampers (suspension pieces). Teams worked on their cars Sunday at Phoenix before leaving Arizona, the crews will likely going home to Indianapolis for a few days and the team haulers already headed to Texas. Is Alex Palou Good At New Courses? Yes he is. Alex Palou, the three-time defending series champion who currently is fifth in the standings after two races, has won the last two races at new tracks: Last year in the first points race at Thermal and 2023 at the new Detroit course. [KEVIN HARVICK: Open-Wheel Crashes at Phoenix ‘Could Have Been Prevented’] Marcus Ericsson won the inaugural race on the Nashville street course in 2021. What Is New About Qualifying? In the final “Fast Six” round, instead of having a six-minute session with drivers running as many laps as they can get in with the best last counting, each of the six finalists will get only one lap. Only one car will be on the track at a time, allowing for more exposure of each of the six drivers vying for the pole. Are there any hometown drivers? Santino Ferrucci, driver of the No. 14 car for AJ Foyt Racing, lives in the Dallas area and expects to have plenty of support. “I think it’s bigger here than Indy for me,” Ferrucci told me and other reporters last week. “I have more people there. And it being my home race, I personally have close to 100 people that are coming.” O’Ward, who hails from Monterrey, Mexico, moved to the San Antonio area when he was 11, so Texas is kind of his home. “This is the closest that I have to home, and it really is, but I don’t necessarily think it’s because it’s close to Mexico, but just because this is where I see a lot of the people that remind me of home — the language and a lot of friends and family are coming this weekend,” O’Ward said. INDYCAR rookie Mick Schumacher’s family has a horse ranch in Texas, so he has spent some time in the state as well. Are There Any Rangers Or Cowboys Coming? With the Rangers in spring training and the Cowboys out of season, it is still to be determined if any active players are there. Rangers great Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez and Cowboys great DeMarcus Ware will give the command to start engines for Sunday’s race.Latest Sports News from FOX Sports
By: Corinne Smith, Alaska Beacon
Officials with the Alaska National Guard said plans to deploy a trained rapid response force this month to support federal authorities in Washington D.C. has been pushed back to May.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy in November approved the U.S. Secretary of the Army’s request for 100 service members to deploy to the nation’s capital as part of a joint federal task force this month. The effort is part of a national directive by the Pentagon to all 50 states to prepare National Guard service members to train for “civil disturbance operations.”
By email on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Alaska National Guard said the timeline has been extended.
“The Alaska National Guard remains in contact with the Pentagon, through the National Guard Bureau, and continues to move through the established processes to support Joint Task Force-District of Columbia,” said Dana Rosso, a public affairs officer with the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, which houses the Army and Air National Guard divisions.
“The current activation timeline has been refined to May 2026,” he wrote.
As of January, there were roughly 2,700 National Guard members stationed in Washington D.C., which the Trump administration has said is to help drive down crime. Service members are expected to be stationed there through the end of the year. On Tuesday, an additional District of Columbia Army National Guard brigade was activated “to coordinate military support to civil authorities and protect critical infrastructure in the nation’s capital.”
A spokesperson for Dunleavy’s office declined to comment on the extended timeline on Wednesday.
At the time the request was announced, Maj. Gen. Torrence Saxe, Adjutant General of the Alaska National Guard and Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, said in a letter to lawmakers that 100 service members were in training for the mission to be “aligned with nation-level requirements.”
“The team will consist of Alaska Army and Air National Guard personnel trained in mission sets that may include site security, roadblocks and checkpoints, civil disturbance control, critical infrastructure protection, and personnel security,” Saxe wrote.
But the process for how the deployment was requested and approved still isn’t clear.
Dunleavy’s office could not find a copy of the U.S. Secretary of Defense that requested the deployment, a spokesperson for the governor’s office said Wednesday. When asked if the request was made verbally, Jeff Turner, Dunleavy’s director of communications, referred the question back to the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.
The division did not answer a request for comment on Wednesday.
Rep. Andrew Gray, D-Anchorage and co-chair of the Joint Armed Services Committee, is a veteran of the Alaska National Guard and was among lawmakers that raised concerns in November when the announcement was made. He questioned the legality of the directive in an interview on Wednesday.
“Until they get something in writing, then there’s no actual deployment to prepare for,” Gray said.
“I think it’s a big misuse of the American taxpayer dollar to fly any soldiers from Alaska to D.C. for what we know is a trash pickup mission in many ways, and it’s a waste,” he added. “It’s just a waste of taxpayer dollars. So I hope that it continues to get pushed off indefinitely and that it never happens.”