Some celebrities over 40 years of age have opted to get a hysterectomy. Women who are thinking of getting this common procedure can learn a lot from them.
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The U.S. is home to a wondrous array of regional foods, and Denver’s Mexican hamburgers are a special part of such widespread dining diversity.
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The resourcefulness and creativity demonstrated in Depression-era kitchens are still talked about. This popular sandwich is remembered as a regional favorite.
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The Alaska State Capitol in Juneau is seen on Apr. 24, 2026. (Photo by Claire Stremple/Alaska Beacon)
The Alaska Beacon launched four years ago today, with a mission to connect Alaskans to their state government.
Since then, we have covered four legislative sessions from the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau. We have written 5,670 articles. And our reporting has won 44 awards — including the Society of Professional Journalists’ General Excellence award, an A-Mark Investigative Journalism award and five Alaska Press Club awards this year.
The Alaska Beacon is a four person team: one editor and three reporters. Our stories have and will continue to investigate how state policies affect specific areas, like the economy, environment, health and education.
Yereth Rosen covers health and the environment from Anchorage, but her reporting takes her all over the state. She’s in Juneau this week for the end of the legislative session, but she’s also racked up trips to Nome, Sitka, Homer, Seward and Whittier. Most of that travel has been supported by a fellowship grant through USC Annenberg’s Center for Health Journalism. Yereth has been with the Alaska Beacon since its inception.
James Brooks covers government and politics from Juneau. He’s back in the halls of the state house after taking some leave to bring twin sons into his family this year. In the coming weeks, he will be following how state lawmakers decide to spend a projected increase in state revenue and the fate of various proposals to incentivize the developers of the potential Alaska LNG project. He has been with the Alaska Beacon since its inception.
Corinne Smith joined the Alaska Beacon in 2024, reporting on the education and justice beats. After award-winning coverage of the education funding and policy debates last year, she is monitoring the effects of that policy — and whether lawmakers address education policy again before they gavel out next week.
I rejoined the Alaska Beacon as its editor in late 2025 after several years as the education and justice reporter and a year-long departure to lead the newsroom at KTOO in Juneau. While I still contribute news stories from time to time, my main focus is leading our three-person team in coverage that centers how state politics and policy affect your life.
In the coming year, we plan to continue our coverage with a major focus on the upcoming November elections. You can look forward to our Voter Guide launching in the coming months, and elections coverage in partnership with other Alaska newsrooms, including the state’s public radio network and the Anchorage Daily News.
Thank you for reading the Alaska Beacon over the last four years. In the years to come, we’re looking forward to earning your continued readership, trust and support.
The trans-Alaska pipeline and Dalton Highway are seen on July 4, 2014, in the Brooks Range area near the pipeline’s Pump Station 4, about 270 miles south of Prudhoe Bay. (Photo by Bob Wick/U.S. Bureau of Land Management)
A bill that would impose a toll on oil and gas vehicles using the Dalton Highway was set aside by state lawmakers on Thursday after the public voiced concern that it would target a single industry and raise costs for Alaskans.
Senator Scott Kawasaki, D-Fairbanks and the sponsor of SB 286, introduced the bill in an effort to offset maintenance costs of the 414-mile long highway that runs from Livengood, north of Fairbanks, the the oilfields of Prudhoe Bay.
“We are trying to find ways to balance this budget where the cost causers are the cost payers,” he said Tuesday.
The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities invests approximately $16.5 million in maintenance on the Dalton Highway each year, with approximately one-third of that funding coming from the federal government.
The bill would set up a toll on two miles of the highway near Deadhorse for vehicles transporting personnel or goods for oil and gas companies. The Alyeska Pipeline Service Company, the company that operates the 800-mile long Trans-Alaska Pipeline System between Prudhoe Bay and Valdez, would be exempted from the toll. The bill would require oil and gas companies to reimburse operators who pay the toll within 30 days of a request for reimbursement.
Alaska Trucking Association President Jamie Benson said that while she supports infrastructure investment, the bill would single out the trucking industry and could increase costs for all Alaskans.
“While it’s framed as a maintenance solution, it functions as a targeted fee on a single industry and its supply chain, including Alaska-based trucking companies,” she told legislators Thursday afternoon.
While the bill aims to raise funds to maintain the Dalton Highway, funds raised from the toll would go into the general fund and be subject to appropriations by the legislature annually.
Members of the trucking, oil and gas industries voiced their opposition during a committee meeting on Thursday.
Robb Christenson, director of sales and pricing at Sourdough Express, expressed concerns about government overreach.
“If we begin carving out small sections of public infrastructure and charging users based on industry, where does it stop? Today it’s two miles on the Dalton Highway, tomorrow it’s roads that access mining, timber or other resource development,” he said.
Cody Hyce, owner of Specialized Transport and Rigging in Wasilla, told legislators that the economic, legal and operational hurdles created by the bill would outweigh the benefits to the state.
“We should be looking for efficiencies in our transportation budget, not nickel and diming the very workers and resources that ensure the state’s energy independence,” he said.
According to Andy Mills, legislative liaison to the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, Alaska does not currently have authorization from the federal government to establish a toll facility on the highway. The Senate State Affairs committee set the bill aside.
Senator Robert Myers, R-North Pole, told legislators that he understands the issue that they’re trying to fix, but he does not see a toll as the right solution.
Myers, who is a truck driver and travels the Dalton Highway, said that the bill poses legal issues since the highway is being rebuilt using federal funds, an equal protection issue by exempting the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company and operational issues for trucking companies.
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When the female stars of “The Devil Wears Prada 2” aren’t flirting with high fashion, they’re kicking back with home-cooked recipes and comfort food classics.
Mashed – Fast Food, Celebrity Chefs, Grocery, Reviews
We’ve known for several months who each NFL team will play in the 2026 season. But this week, we’ll learn when all 272 games will be played in the upcoming regular season. The NFL will unveil the entirety of the 2026 regular-season schedule on Thursday. However, the league is announcing the dates of several games before then, like marquee matchups in Week 1. So, as you get your calendars out to prepare for what you’ll be doing this fall, here’s a look at which games we know will be played and when ahead of Thursday’s schedule release. The Seattle Seahawks will open the 2026 season on a Wednesday, marking the first time the NFL has opened a regular season on a Wednesday since 2012. Still, it marks the continuation of the tradition of the defending champion playing in the game’s season-opener. As of Monday morning, there are five potential opponents the Seahawks could face in the season-opener. One of those includes the New England Patriots, which would be a rematch of Super Bowl LX. The other potential opponents for the Seahawks are the Kansas City Chiefs, Chicago Bears, Los Angeles Chargers and Arizona Cardinals. The Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers will play their opener on Sept. 11 in Melbourne. The game is expected to kick off at about 10:35 a.m. that Friday in Australia, which is 8:35 p.m. ET on Thursday night (Sept. 10) in the United States. The Dallas Cowboys are set to visit the New York Giants in the first Sunday night game of the 2026 NFL season on Sept. 13. It’ll mark the eighth time in the past 15 years that the Cowboys and Giants are opening the season against each other. Dallas is always a national television draw as “America’s Team,” and New York could get more prime-time exposure with Super Bowl winner John Harbaugh coaching and Jaxson Dart established as the franchise quarterback coming off his eventful rookie year. It is set to be Harbaugh’s Giants debut. If healthy, it would also be the first meaningful game between Dart and Dak Prescott. While each started the season finale on Jan. 4, the teams were eliminated from playoff contention by then. This also could be the NFL debuts for a pair of former Ohio State teammates: Giants linebacker Arvell Reese, taken with the fifth pick, and Cowboys safety Caleb Downs, drafted not long after at No. 11. The Buffalo Bills’ first game at the new Highmark Stadium will be against the Detroit Lions on a Thursday night in Week 2. It’ll mark the start of a new era in Buffalo, as the Bills played the vast majority of their home games from 1973 to 2025 at the stadium previously nicknamed The Ralph. It’ll also mark the start of a new era for the Bills on the field, as it’ll be Joe Brady’s first home game as their head coach. The Baltimore Ravens have been chosen to play the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL’s inaugural game in Rio de Janeiro this season. That game will be played on Sunday, Sept. 27. The NFL previously made a multi-year commitment to bring at least three regular-season games to Rio de Janeiro over the next five years. The NFL has previously played two games in Brazil — Packers-Eagles in 2024 and Chiefs-Chargers in 2025 at São Paulo’s Corinthians Arena — but this will be the first in Rio. One of the NFL’s best rivalries will be featured on Thanksgiving Day and will air on FOX. The Philadelphia Eagles will meet up with the Cowboys in Dallas on the holiday this year as the two NFC East rivals go head-to-head on Thanksgiving for the first time since 2015. Here are five storylines to know ahead of the matchup. The Associated Press contributed to this report.Latest Sports News from FOX Sports
Here’s what’s happening this week Inside The Garage: Watkins Glen International (Watkins Glen, N.Y.) — Ryan Preece admitted he was surprised when NASCAR penalized him for wrecking Ty Gibbs at Texas Motor Speedway. And he wasn’t the only one. Preece will appeal his penalty of 25 points and $50,000 fine. And his appeal will center on the same May 3 race where Kyle Busch appeared to retaliate against John Hunter Nemechek but didn’t get penalized. NASCAR spokesman Mike Forde, speaking on a NASCAR podcast, said the telemetry data showed that Busch’s car likely was damaged, that he had his steering wheel turned left and his car went straight. So they couldn’t penalize him. The fact that Preece had said “When I get to that 54 [of Gibbs], I’m done with him” was enough to signal to NASCAR some premeditation. Preece is hopeful he can show on appeal that he didn’t wreck Gibbs on purpose as he indicated he just didn’t cut Gibbs a break. The one thing that could be tough for him is that NASCAR changed its appeal rules a couple years ago to where the appeals panel, if they find the rule was violated, can’t eliminate any portion of the penalty issued and can only adjust in the range specified. The 25 points and $50,000 are the lowest for the range of points and money for an intentionally wrecking penalty, so the appeals panel can’t wipe out the points and just increase the fine as has been done in the past. No date has been set yet for the appeal. “I’m a bit surprised,” Preece said at a news conference in Watkins Glen this past weekend. “I’m thankful that NASCAR has an appeals process.” The RFK Racing driver has been encouraged by team leadership to be himself and be bold. So Preece has to weigh that request with not wanting to be penalized if he vents a little on the radio. “At the beginning of the season, we were encouraged to be ourselves,” Preece said. “I’m not going to change being myself, but what I can say is that I’m excited for the appeals process, and I look forward to going through that.” His boss, Brad Keselowski, has been through a few appeals and “generally, I feel like they’re a pretty fair process.” Keselowski is one of two full-time owner-drivers in the sport. The other, Denny Hamlin, could give a view that wouldn’t impact an appeal. Hamlin said he thought Busch would get penalized and Preece would not. Which sparks the question of whether two people can look at the same SMT data and come up with different determinations. “No matter what, common sense has to be the first rule of thumb,” Hamlin told me. “And then you go from there, then you use data to either back up or deny common sense.” Drivers certainly will be watching to see how the NASCAR appeal panel rules. Keselowski said, somewhat in jest, that the line is always moving on what is acceptable and what is a penalty. “I would like to see NASCAR have race stewards,” said Keselowski, referring to other series that have former drivers who make those determinations on the spot in race control. “I think it would probably make it easier on them when calls like that are so difficult.” As far as the two drivers involved, they haven’t spoken. Preece said he would wait until after the appeal. “We got destroyed there and obviously that was last week, and we’ll let NASCAR figure that out,” Gibbs told me and other reporters. “But we got a wrecked race car and lost a lot of points for going three-wide bottom, and not making any contact [with Preece initially].” More Push-To-Pass Drama INDYCAR drivers certainly had something to say over the push-to-pass controversy at Long Beach, where INDYCAR did not disable the system for the restart. Twelve drivers used the system, which gives them a boost of 50 extra horsepower. INDYCAR didn’t penalize anyone because the rule never said they couldn’t use it at the time, just that INDYCAR would disable it for the start and restarts. INDYCAR changed the rule to just apply to the initial start of the race, but also put the onus on the drivers that if they do push the button and it works when it’s not supposed to, the drivers will get penalized. “I’m surprised I didn’t press it more,” said four-time series champion Alex Palou, who used it for 15 seconds, according to an INDYCAR release of who used it. “I’m very surprised as well that they pinpointed at every single car that used it when it was not our fault, it was INDYCAR’s fault.” Kyle Kirkwood told Palou that he must have had an indicator to know that it was on because nearly all the Ganassi and Ganassi affiliate cars used it. “Everybody would have used it if they’d known it was active,” Kirkwood said. To that, Pato O’Ward said he was told it was active but didn’t use it. Why? “You know the rule,” he said. Blaney Re-Ups With Penske Ryan Blaney signed a contract with Team Penske that likely keeps him with the NASCAR organization at least through 2030. The 2023 Cup Series champion has spent his entire 13-year Cup career with the organization and said he didn’t look anywhere else. It’s been no secret that overall, Team Penske hasn’t had its best season. “I’m happy where I am,” Blaney told me and other reporters Saturday. “I have been happy where I am for a long time now. Roger [Penske] has been an unbelievable person to me. What he’s done for me and my career, I’m extremely grateful for. “No matter where your team’s at — if you’re top of the world, if you’re struggling to find speed, you’re working together to get where you want to be. There was never a moment where, like, ‘Man, I could do this and that somewhere else.’ That just doesn’t ever cross my mind. I work with the people I work with, and we try to all together to be the best we can.” His teammate, Joey Logano, told me he urged his team to get an extension done for Blaney, who at 32 years old with 18 Cup wins would be attractive to other organizations. “Ryan’s probably one of the best, if not the best driver on the racetrack right now,” Logano said. “So it’s a no-brainer to lock him in. That was my suggestion” Don’t be too late on this one. … Having some consistency helps. “Anytime there’s a driver change, you’ve got a year of learning what they’re like right at each track, what’s kind of their trends, and what do they want in their car versus yours. And when you’re looking at their notes versus what you’ve got, or their setups and those type of things, it’s not real clear. The picture is not clear for a couple of years.” In The News –Watkins Glen’s May race weekend was a one-and-done as the Cup Series will have its race at the track in the 2027 Chase sometime in September. The track did not say which support series would be part of that weekend. –The Joe Gibbs Racing-Chris Gabehart-Spire trial over whether Gabehart gave Spire any trade secrets in his move from JGR to Spire will be in January. JGR asked for November; Gabehart and Spire asked for April and the judge pretty much set it in the middle. Huge Winning Weekend Kaden Honeycutt won four races in two days in two states. In a wild Friday and Saturday, Honeycutt won the ARCA Series race at Watkins Glen and then followed it up with his first career NASCAR Truck Series victory with an upset on the road course. He went to Ace Speedway on Saturday and won the CARS Tour pro late model and late model stock events on the North Carolina short track. Social Spotlight Just Being Honest Christian Lundgaard won an INDYCAR race for the first time since 2023 when he captured his second career victory Saturday on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. “I hope that it doesn’t take another three years for another one,” he said. They Said It “Speechless. This is so cool.” — Shane van Gisbergen after his Cup Series win Sunday at Watkins Glen.Latest Sports News from FOX Sports
One occupational hazard you might encounter is a potato exploding in the oven. It is, however, a relatively straightforward mishap to prevent.
Food Republic – Restaurants, Reviews, Recipes, Cooking Tips
If you’re wondering who dominates scallion production in the U.S., think of a place that’s known for mild weather and abundant sunshine year-round.
Mashed – Fast Food, Celebrity Chefs, Grocery, Reviews