"The 2024 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race kicked off with brisk, gusting winds and sunny skies at the race’s ceremonial start in Anchorage on Saturday, amid hundreds of barking sled dogs and thousands of cheering race fans."

"Every species of animal and plant that lives or breeds in the Arctic is experiencing dramatic change. As the polar region warms, species endure extreme weather, shrinking and altered habitat, decreased food availability, and competition from invading southern species."

"An elderly man on the Kenai Peninsula has died from Alaskapox, making him the first person to be killed by the viral disease that was identified only nine years ago, state health officials reported on Friday."

"Permafrost thaw, erosion, storm surges and other climate-change impacts in Alaska’s rural Native villages are not being properly addressed by federal programs because residents have too much trouble overcoming bureaucratic hurdles, said a report issued by the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium."

"On a warm day last spring, dozens of protesters gathered outside a shopping center on the west side of Hawaii’s Big Island. They weren’t there to boycott a store or a pipeline or to deride a politician. They came to revolt against a new ban on feeding cats in the parking lot. “Stop starving the cats,” the protesters chanted, according to a local newspaper."

"Plus Power’s Kapolei battery is officially online. The pioneering project is a leading example of how to shift crucial grid functions from fossil-fueled plants to clean energy."

"With Alaska's wildlife numbers declining, agencies are blaming — and culling — predators. The true threat is much more complex."