NORAD detected, tracked, and intercepted two Russian TU-95 and two People’s Republic of China H-6 military aircraft operating in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone on July 24.
NORAD fighter jets from the United States and Canada conducted the intercept.
The Russian and Chinese aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace. This Russian and Chinese activity in the Alaska ADIZ is not seen as a threat. NORAD will continue to monitor competitor activity near North America and meet presence with presence, the agency said.
An ADIZ begins where sovereign airspace ends and is a defined stretch of international airspace that requires the ready identification of all aircraft in the interest of national security.
NORAD is a unique bi-national command between the United States and Canada. NORAD employs a layered defense network of satellites, ground-based and airborne radars and fighter aircraft in seamless interoperability to detect and track aircraft and inform appropriate actions. NORAD remains ready to employ a number of response options in defense of North America.
President Joe Biden was set to address the nation at 8 p.m. on Wednesday from the Oval Office to explain his decision to discontinue his campaign for reelection.
Board of Trustee Gabrielle Rubenstein has resigned from the Alaska Permanent Fund Board of Trustees.
Rubenstein is at the center of a scandal in which she was accused of putting undue pressure on professional staff members of the $80 billion fund to steer influence toward her own investment interests or those of her billionaire father, David Rubenstien, founder of the equity firm the Carlyle Group. The scandal unfolded after the Alaska Landmine news site obtained leaked emails that showed the staff was concerned about her involvement in the actual operations of the fund, and emails that showed she may have pressured the governor to not reappoint Ethan Schutt to the board.
Rubenstein said she had not been attending meetings in person because of health concerns.
Her resignation came during the same meeting that she stepped back from her role as vice chair, and during the same meeting that the board elected a new chair and vice chair — Jason Brune and Adam Crum. The board has been in Fairbanks on Wednesday for its quarterly meeting.
Rubenstein was appointed in 2022 by Gov. Mike Dunleavy to serve a four-year term as one of the four public members of the Board of Trustees. She runs her own private equity investment company, Manna Tree.
During the quarterly meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Alaska Permanent Fund on Wednesday, the board voted to replace Ethan Schutt at chairman and Ellie Rubenstein as vice chairwoman. The new board chairman is Jason Brune, former Department of Environmental Conservation commissioner, and vice chairman is Adam Crum, currently the state commissioner of the Department of Revenue.
Both Schutt and Rubenstein will remain on the board, but the coup that took place in Fairbanks was still a surprise to many, and it follows a season of controversy that developed after leaked emails showed that Rubenstein may have put undue pressure on the professional staff that manages the fund to steer investments toward her own interests or that of her father, billionaire David Rubenstein. Rubenstein served as vice chair for the Permanent Fund for less than a year.
An investigation is under way that seems to be focused more on the leaks than on the actual issue of conflict of interest.
Schutt was reappointed this month to his seat on the Permanent Fund by Gov. Mike Dunleavy. His appointment is for four more years. He served as chair for less than two years.
The Permanent Fund’s website was immediately changed to reflect the new leadership.
Brune was appointed by Gov. Dunleavy in 2018 to be the Department of Environmental Conservation commissioner appointed. Prior to that, he was the senior director of land and resources at Cook Inlet Region Inc. (CIRI), and worked for Anglo American, a global mining company. He has served on the Alaska Sealife Center Board, Cook Inlet Beluga Whale Endangered Species Act Recovery Team, Tyonek Tribal Conservation District Board, the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Public Advisory Committee, and numerous other business and civic organizations. Brune is the former executive director for the Resource Development Council, executive director emeritus for Alaska Resource Education, and past president of the Alaska Miners Association. He has a bachelor’s degree in biology from Carleton College, and his graduate work was in environmental science at Alaska Pacific University.
Brune was appointed to the Board of Trustees in 2022 to hold one of the two seats reserved for the governor’s cabinet members. In 2023, following his resignation as commissioner, he was appointed by Dunleavy to a four-year public seat.
Crum was born and raised in Alaska and has significant public and private sector experience in strategic management, organizational development, executive consulting and large-scale projects. His ability to manage, establish and lead effective teams was highlighted throughout his public service to the State of Alaska as he led the Alaska Department of Health for four years, including through the Covid-19 pandemic.
Prior to his 2018 appointment by Gov. Dunleavy as commissioner for DHSS, Crum served as executive vice president of his family’s company, Northern Industrial Training. Active in numerous community service organizations, Crum has also served as a board member for the Salvation Army and MyHouse, a group that works specifically with homeless youth.
Trustee Crum holds the seat on the APFC Board of Trustees designated for the commissioner of Revenue, having been appointed in November 2022 by Gov. Dunleavy. He has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Northwestern University and a master of science in public health from Johns Hopkins University.
Alaska’s Sen. Dan Sullivan wrote on X/Twitter about America’s loyalty and promises to Israel, and criticized the vice president of the United States, who is the presiding member of the Senate, for skipping out on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s historic speech to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday.
“He laid out the stakes,” Sullivan said of Netanyahu. “This is an axis of evil with regard to Iran, an axis of chaos. It’s literally barbarism vs. civilization.”
It’s customary for the vice president to preside during a joint session of Congress, but Vice President Kamala Harris was nowhere to be seen in the Capitol. Neither she nor President Joe Biden greeted Netanyahu as he disembarked his jet on Monday in the United States. Harris, now the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, is set to meet with Netanyahu privately after President Joe Biden meets with him on Thursday. Former President Donald Trump will meet with the Israeli prime minister on Friday at Mar-a-Lago.
During the Netanyahu speech, pro-Hamas rioters outside the building were pepper sprayed by U.S. Capitol Police as they became violent, burned the American flag, and shouted invectives against Israel and Netanyahu.
A man saves a smoldering American flag from the center of the protest and is nearly tackled amidst shouts “get him!” pic.twitter.com/ZHexsEZbak
“It is disheartening to see Vice President Harris and senior Democrats boycotting an address from Israel’s prime minister at a moment of unprecedented vulnerability for America’s closest ally in the Middle East. We should be reinforcing, not undermining, the decades-long, bipartisan support for this critical democracy, recognizing Israel’s right to exist in peace and security,” Sullivan said after the speech ended.
Here’s Sen. Sullivan’t immediate reaction to the speech:
I just walked out of the incredible speech by Israeli Prime Minister @netanyahu. He laid out the stakes: This is an axis of evil with regard to Iran, an axis of chaos.
As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepared to speak to Congress on Wednesday, a large mob of pro-Palestinians gathered outside the U.S. Capitol, waving Palestinian and Hamas flags and marching and chanting anti-Israel slogans, including slogans against President Joe Biden and Netanyahu, whom they called a war criminal.
Capitol Police ended up using pepper spray and other devices to stop what became a violent mob.
“Part of the crowd has started to become violent at First Street and Constitution Avenue, NW. The crowd failed to obey our order to move back from our police line. We are deploying pepper spray towards anyone trying to break the law and cross that line,” the U.S. Capitol Police wrote.
— Brendan Gutenschwager (@BGOnTheScene) July 24, 2024
“Five people in the House Gallery just disrupted the Address during the Joint Meeting. All of them were immediately removed from the Gallery and arrested. Disrupting the Congress and demonstrating in the Congressional Buildings is against the law,” the agency said.
Rioters at Union Station, which is near the Capitol, took down the American flag and burned it, and hoisted a Palestinian flag in its place.
One day earlier, a mob took over the Rotunda in the Capitol and were removed, with several arrested. Alaska’s U.S. delegation and staff were not harmed by the riot, although some staffers were not able to get to the Capitol building after lunch due to the mayhem and police actions. Sen. Lisa Murkowski was spotted sitting next to Sen. Susan Collins and Sen. Dan Sullivan was present in the gallery during Netanyahu’s speech. Rep. Mary Peltola was not spotted in the gallery.
“America stands with Israel. Always,” wrote Sen. Sullivan on X/Twitter during the speech to the joint session of Congress. During the speech, Vice President Kamala Harris was absent, even though it is normal for the vice president to preside over the Senate during such state events.
Capitol police have unleashed pepper spray onto PRO-HAMAS supporters…
One of Netanyahu’s most memorable lines was, “”Some of these protesters hold up signs proclaiming ‘Gays for Gaza’. They might as well hold up signs saying ‘Chickens for KFC’.” He added, “I have a message for these protesters. When the tyrants of Tehran who hang gays from cranes and murder women for not covering their hair are praising, promoting, and funding you, you have officially become Iran’s useful idiots.”
Sen. Mike Lee posted video of the protesters disembarking from buses several blocks from the Capitol and asked readers who funded the busing of hundreds of protesters and their equipment to D.C.
The protest organizers include Code Pink and the Party for Socialism and Liberation, which is active in Anchorage and which recently disrupted the inauguration of Mayor Suzanne LaFrance in downtown Anchorage.
Alaskans looking to make a political and fashion statement can find “Alaskan for Trump” T-shirts, sweatshirts, stickers and other swag at the Alaska Republican Party’s online store at this link.
Trump t-shirt for sale at Alaska Republican Party website.
If Alaskans want Trump yard signs, they can get them and other types of shirts, hats, mugs, and swag at DonaldJTrump.com, which is a contribution to the Trump/Vance campaign, and on Amazon.com for as little as $9.99, but is not associated with the campaign.
MatSu Republican Women will also have swag at their booth at the Alaska State Fair, which starts Aug. 16.
Alaska Trump campaign chair Kelly Tshibaka said that it’s unlikely that the Trump campaign will ship many campaign signs to Alaska this year, since Trump has to conserve costs due to the ongoing siege of lawsuits being waged against him in courts.
Alaska Democrats have no Kamala Harris for President t-shirts for sale yet at the party website, nor are there any leftover Biden shirts, but do have rainbow-themed t-shirts available for $32.
Alaska Democrats selling rainbow t-shirts during a presidential election year.
A new study by the National Bureau of Economic Research shows that giving Americans a universal income of $1,000 in taxpayer money makes them grow poorer and lazier. They work less, earn less, and their economic state deteriorates over time, as they grow less motivated to work.
Universal income was one of Vice President Kamala Harris’ most ambitious bills when she was a U.S. senator. According to the American Enterprise Institute, her bill was likely the most expensive bill ever introduced in Congress, “offering ample fodder for Republicans looking to define Senator Harris’s liberal record.”
Harris’s legislation, (S. 3784, the “Monthly Economic Crisis Support Act”) proposed monthly payments of $2,000 for Americans, except for those in high-income brackets of over $100,000 per year in 2020. Most Americans, however, would qualify for the transfer of money from other taxpayers or from increased national debt. Harris’ bill would have awarded $2,000 per adult and an additional $2,000 for up to three children, which means a family of five would have gotten $10,000 a month under the Harris universal basic income plan.
“The only exceptions would be households with adjusted gross income above $100,000 as a single individual, $150,000 as a head of household, and $200,000 as a married couple, for whom payments would rapidly phase out. But since people in those households, along with children in families of six or more, make up fewer than one in five US residents, the vast majority of US residents would receive $2,000 payments each month,” the institute wrote in 2020.
Now, after a 3,000-person study has gone on for three years, the result shows that giving people money makes them less likely to want to work.
Giving people $1,000 a month resulted in a 2% decrease in labor market participation for participants and an overall reduction of their work time each week.
The participants spent more time on leisure, as well as other activities, like sleeping.
“Despite asking detailed questions about amenities, we find no impact on quality of employment, and our confidence intervals can rule out even small improvements. We observe no significant effects on investments in human capital, though younger participants may pursue more formal education. Overall, our results suggest a moderate labor supply effect that does not appear offset by other productive activities,” the National Bureau of Economic Research wrote.
For every one dollar received, total household earned income — excluding that gifted money — fell by at least 21 cents, or about $210 for the study participants.
The Alaska Democratic Party endorses Harris for president, after the sudden coup conducted by the national Democratic apparatchiks, forcing President Joe Biden to withdraw his name as a nominee. All delegates to the national convention on Aug. 19 will vote for Harris, including Democrat Rep. Mary Peltola, who has now refused to endorse her.
Two weeks ago, in a landmark legal ruling, Moms for Liberty secured an injunction to stop the Biden Administration’s rewrite of Title IX regulations from going into effect across the country. Biden’s interpretation of Title IX allows boys to be treated as girls and girls to be treated as boys in sports, locker rooms and bathrooms.
Moms for Liberty, which has chapters in Mat-Su and Anchorage, has now received clarification from a judge that says the preliminary injunction applies to both current and future members of Moms for Liberty, and that the group can continuously update its list of members and thus the schools covered by the injunction, as needed.
On Wednesday, Moms for Liberty launched a new function through its website, allowing members (current, new, and future) to opt-in to the protections secured by Moms for Liberty’s landmark legal victory. Opting your child’s school in is easy and can be done through editing your profile on the Moms for Liberty “member portal.”
Detailed instructions can be found at the group’s webpage. Find detailed instructions on how to opt-in your child’s school and answers to frequently asked questions here.
The three candidates who are challenging Republican Rep. Sarah Vance for her seat in the Alaska Legislature all have something in common — the support of the Alaska Democratic Party or those associated with the party.
Dawson Slaughter, a Republican, got a contribution of $100 from Rep. Zack Fields, who is one of the hardest of the hardline Democrats in the Alaska Legislature and who was the communication director for the Alaska Democratic Party.
Candidates Brent Johnson and Alana Greear, both registered as nonpartisans, have paid for campaign coordination services from the Alaska Democrat Party, which provides wrap-around campaign help to Democrat candidates and, evidently, those who are Democrats masquerading as independents.
Johnson also received $2,500 from the House Democrat Campaign Committee. Greear has spent over $6,000 on her campaign, and is in debt to the Alaska Democratic Party for $3,000 for the coordinated campaign services she is committed to.
Vance is running for her fourth term in Alaska State House District 6, and is the only candidate who stands with President Donald Trump. District 6 is north Homer and Anchor Point. It’s a conservative-leaning district, but false-flag nonpartisans are taking advantage of the open primary to try to woo unsuspecting voters.
It does not hurt Vance’s campaign that she has the last name “Vance,” the same as the Republican vice presidential nominee, J.D. Vance. Her husband and son also share the initials “J.D.” Voters in the Homer district might expect to see Trump/Vance signs popping up between now and November, a win for both the former president and the House member running for reelection.
