The US Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that it will not block the Trump Administration’s enforcement of its ban on transgender individuals serving in the military, lifting a nationwide injunction previously issued by a federal judge in Washington state. The decision allows the policy to take effect while legal challenges proceed in lower courts.
The Court’s “short order” was issued without explanation, a common practice in emergency rulings.Â
Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson, the liberals appointed by President Barack Obama and President Joe Biden, dissented.
The policy disqualifies individuals diagnosed with gender dysphoria or those who have undergone gender transition steps from military service, though waivers may be considered on a case-by-case basis. This reverses an Obama-era directive that had been reversed under Trump 1 and that was then reinstated by President Joe Biden, which permitted transgender individuals to serve openly.
The case at the center of the dispute, United States v. Shilling, involves Commander Emily Shilling. US District Judge Benjamin Settle had previously ruled that the ban likely violated the Fifth Amendment’s equal protection guarantee and lacked supporting evidence of harm caused by transgender service.Â
The Trump Administration argued that the courts must defer to the commander in chief’s authority and military’s determinations about readiness, lethality, and unit cohesion.
This decision reflects the Supreme Court’s long-standing deference to military policy, allowing actions within the armed forces that might be deemed unconstitutional in civilian contexts. Past precedents, including Goldman v. Weinberger and Rostker v. Goldberg, have upheld similar military-specific restrictions.
The Supreme Court’s order is not a final decision on the policy’s legality but does clear the way for its enforcement while lawsuits proceed in the lower courts. There are at least seven transgender service members who are suing to remain in the military.
Congressman Nick Begich has introduced legislation to reauthorize the National Volcano Early Warning and Monitoring System through 2030, reinforcing efforts to protect communities and infrastructure from volcanic hazards across the country.
Alaska is home to over 130 volcanoes, many of which remain active. Notably, Mount Spurr, located 80 miles west of Anchorage, has recently shown signs of unrest. Increased seismic activity and minor ground deformation have raised alert levels at the volcano, prompting alerts from emergency management officials. Should an eruption occur, the nearby village of Tyonek could face heavy ashfall, while the Anchorage Bowl and Matanuska-Susitna region may also be impacted, depending on prevailing winds. Flight disruptions could be significant.
“Alaska is home to more than 130 volcanoes and many of them active. Their potential impact on aviation, energy, and communities in Alaska is significant,” Begich said. “Reauthorizing this critical system ensures that we remain prepared and proactive in protecting Alaskans and our infrastructure from future eruptions. This legislation is a smart investment in safety and commonsense governance.”
Originally established under the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act of 2019, NVEWS provides the framework for improving volcano monitoring capabilities nationwide. It supports the US Geological Survey in upgrading equipment, enhancing data analysis, and coordinating emergency response with state and local agencies.
Begich’s proposed reauthorization would extend NVEWS through 2030 and it includes technical updates without changing the program’s original structure or funding levels.
Seven members of the Congressional Western Caucus convened in Colorado Springs over the weekend for a field tour and policy discussion focused on energy development, responsible mining, and land management in the West.
Among the participants was Alaska Congressman Nick Begich, who has been a vocal advocate for domestic mining and energy production.
The event, hosted by the Congressional Western Caucus Foundation, brought together key lawmakers and local leaders to examine the region’s diverse energy mix and its historical and ongoing contributions to US mining. Along with Begich, the delegation included Caucus Chairman Doug LaMalfa of California, Vice Chairs Harriet Hageman of Wyoming and Pete Stauber of Minnesota, Jeff Crank of Colorado, Troy Balderson of Ohio, and Lauren Boebert of Colorado.
“Leadership at the Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mine provided members of Congress with a clear depiction of how we are securing America’s critical mineral future,” said Congressman Begich. “America first starts with American mining and American energy development.”
The field tour gave members a close-up look at mining operations and energy infrastructure, while policy discussions focused on active forest management to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires and address the growing threat of gray wolf populations to livestock in the West. Begich also visited the US Air Force Academy while in Colorado Springs. In his role in Congress, he nominates Alaskans to the Air Force Academy every year.
Congressional Western Caucus policy discussions in Colorado Springs.
Begich, who has consistently pushed for expanded domestic mineral production as a cornerstone of national security and energy independence, engaged with stakeholders across the region during the visit.
While former Alaska Rep. Mary Peltola had briefly joined the Congressional Western Caucus during her time in Congress, she was not an active participant, never attending a single meeting.
In contrast, Begich has emerged as a committed and engaged member, participating in field tours and contributing to policy formation.
The Congressional Western Caucus brings together lawmakers from across the country with a shared focus on issues facing rural and resource-rich regions, including public lands, agriculture, mining, and energy. This weekend’s gathering in Colorado Springs was part of the caucus’s ongoing efforts to inform federal policy with boots-on-the-ground insights from local communities.
Rep. Mike Prax of North Pole made a motion on the House floor on Monday to table Sen. Bill Wielechowski’s SB 113, which levies corporate income taxes on businesses based outside the state but doing mail-order business or services in the state. His motion failed.
The controversial tax legislation has many confused because while it is not a sales tax, it will likely raise the cost of doing business in a highly digital age of Amazon, Etsy, eBay, and even online services such as LegalZoom. Taxes absorbed by companies will be passed along to customers.
Those voting to table the bill were: Jamie Allard, Bill Elam, DeLena Johnson, Kevin McCabe, Mike Prax, George Rauscher, Dan Saddler, Rebecca Schwanke, Cathy Tilton, Frank Tomaszewski, and Sarah Vance.
Those voting against tabling the bill were: Robyn Burke, Jeremy Bynum, Ashley Carrick, Mia Costello, Julie Coulombe, Maxine Dibert, Bryce Edgmon, Ted Eischeid, Zack Fields, Neal Foster, Alyse Galvin, Andrew Gray, Carolyn Hall, Sara Hannan, Rebecca Himschoot, Ky Holland, Nellie Jimmie, Andy Josephson, Chuck Kopp, Donna Mears, Genevieve Mina, Elexie Moore, David Nelson, Justin Ruffridge, Cal Schrage, Will Stapp, Andi Story, Louise Stutes, and Jubilee Underwood.
The vote total may be a good predictor of how the final vote will go on Wednesday when the bill is taken up for passage. The measure already passed the Senate and may end up on the governor’s desk, where he’ll have to decide whether to veto it.
Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom made it official on Monday, filing for governor for the 2026 race. So did Click Bishop, the former senator from Fairbanks.
The two are the first to file since the official filing period opened on Monday morning.
Dahlstrom ran for Congress in 2024 and dropped out after coming in behind Nick Begich and Mary Peltola in the primary, when she got 19,252 votes.
She is the first of three of the Mike Dunleavy Cabinet to file; both Revenue Commissioner Adam Crum and Attorney General Treg Taylor are exploring filing. If all three do, it puts the governor in a bind as he tries to get the Alaska LNG gasline built, with some of his top cabinet members distracted by their political interests.
Click Bishop in 2022
Bishop left office in January, and has been rumored to be a candidate since deciding not run last year for reelection to the seat he had held since 2013 for Fairbanks. Like Dahlstrom, he is a Republican, but he is known as a friend of Big Labor.
Neither Dahlstrom or Bishop have announced running mates, and they have over a year to do so. The 2026 primary, which is going to be a jungle primary due to ranked-choice voting, is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026.
In a reader poll last month, Must Read Alaska readers did not score Dahlstrom highly.
Starting May 7, all US air travelers aged 18 and older will be required to present a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license or another acceptable form of identification, such as a valid passport, to board domestic flights and access certain federal facilities, specifically those serving jets. The small commuter flights that buzz around Alaska are not impacted by this requirement, as passengers do not go through Transportation Security Administration screening to reach their boarding gates.
The upcoming enforcement marks the culmination of the REAL ID Act, enacted by Congress in 2005 to enhance national security following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. The rollout has been, however, delayed five times.
A REAL ID-compliant license is typically distinguished by a star in the top right corner. To obtain one, applicants must visit the Department of Motor Vehicles and provide specific documentation, including proof of identity (such as a birth certificate or passport), proof of Social Security number, and two additional proofs of residency. The ID is manufactured out of state and mailed to the recipient, and it can take a few weeks.
In Alaska, while obtaining a REAL ID is not mandatory for non-commercial drivers, those holding a commercial driver’s license are already required to be federally compliant and must upgrade to a REAL ID at the time of license expiration, if not already compliant.
Air travelers who do not possess a REAL ID-compliant license by the deadline will need to present an alternative form of acceptable identification, such as a valid US passport or some military ID types to pass through TSA checkpoints. Failure to provide such identification may result in being denied access to flights or federal facilities like military bases or nuclear facilities.
Alaska has updated its identification cards. Both the standard ID cards and REAL ID-compliant cards feature the new design but are distinguished by specific markings. REAL ID cards will display a star symbol in the top right corner to indicate compliance, while standard ID cards will not have the star and will include the notation “Federal limits apply.”
Alaskans report that lines at the Department of Motor Vehicles offices have been long, sometimes hours. Even if you get through the REAL ID process, the ID cards themselves are not printed on the spot, but will arrive in the mail weeks later.
Thursday, April 24, was a day like any other day – the sun came up, the sun went down, and Donald Trump was hit with at least three nationwide injunctions by federal district court judges.
That’s just the way it goes if you are a president who wants to take back America from the entrenched left-wing bureaucracy and restore common sense to government before it is too late.
The danger of the bureaucracy was predicted by Julien Benda in his 1927 book “The Treason of the Clerks,” which warned of the danger of the intellectual class adopting political passions that had previously been the sole domain of the masses. We see this most distinctly today in the federal bureaucracy, which I dare say has the greatest concentration of degree-holders from Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia (and the like) of any sector in the nation, other than the incestuous universities themselves.
The treason that Benda described was the loss of independence of thought and dispassionate reason by intellectuals, and the accompanying subservience of intellect to political passions. During Trump’s first term, I wrote a column describing the danger that Benda had foreseen:
“Benda wrote at the beginning of the age of mass communication, and yet he already saw that political passions have attained a universality never before known. … Thanks to the progress of communication and, still more, to the group spirit, it is clear that the holders of the same political hatred now form a compact impassioned mass, every individual of which feels himself in touch with the infinite number of others, whereas a century ago such people were comparatively out of touch with each other and hated in a scattered way.”
It seems that we are now living out Benda’s worst nightmare — an age of manipulation of the masses by those who think they know better — whether you call them the “deep state,” the “opposition party,” “the national elite,” “the entrenched bureaucracy,” or just “the establishment.”
And for the past 10 years, they have turned their hatred on Donald Trump. Without rhyme or reason, they fight him on every reform and arm themselves with invented scandal and fake news.
Now, in Trump’s second term, we see that the bureaucracy has a close ally in the judiciary – not one judge, but multitudes that aim to preserve the status quo of liberal governance. If that wasn’t clear before April 24, there was no room for doubt after the day was filled with one court ruling after another telling Trump to “stand back and stand by” rather than to exercise his lawful power as president.
Here’s what tumbled out of the judicial branch that day:
– A federal district court judge in California blocked Trump’s executive order that would have denied federal funds to so-called sanctuary cities that limit or forbid cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
– A Washington, D.C., judge blocked the Trump administration from following through on the president’s executive order requiring that voters in federal elections show proof of citizenship when registering.
– A district judge in New Hampshire blocked efforts to defund public schools that utilize diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Not to be outdone, judges in Maryland and Washington, D.C., essentially issued the same order, giving added protection to one of the least popular programs ever shoved down the throat of American citizens.
At the time, those were the latest of more than a dozen nationwide injunctions issued by unelected federal judges who appeared more interested in preserving and protecting left-wing shibboleths than the Constitution.
Also in courts across the nation that week were attempts by judges to reject Trump’s authority as commander in chief to ban transgender participation in the military, to deny Trump the right to strip security clearances from law firms that he says put national security interests second to political partisanship, and stop the administration’s efforts to eliminate federal news services such as Voice of America that engage in anti-American propaganda.
Those are all in addition to the several injunctions issued relative to Trump’s promised reform of the immigration system to expedite deportation of illegal immigrants, especially those who have a criminal history or are members of international gangs.
If that seems normal, it isn’t. There were only six nationwide injunctions during the eight years of the George W. Bush presidency, and only 12 during the Obama presidency. That increased to 14 under President Biden, which was surpassed by President Trump in the first nine weeks of his second term when 15 such injunctions were issued. Of course, Trump should be accustomed to such judicial abuse. In his first term, there were 64 injunctions against his policies, a staggering 92.2% issued by Democrat-appointed judges. Julien Benda would have clearly recognized the “political passions” that had supplanted the disinterested intellectual rigor we once expected of our judges.
Yet because of our habituated respect for the separation of powers, none dare call it the treason of the judiciary.
That of course is a reference to the 1960s tract “None Dare Call It Treason” by John A. Stormer. Stormer took on the country’s intellectual elites, blaming them for working against the interests of the nation by tolerating or quietly promoting communism. The left-wing elites of the day laughed it off as another right-wing conspiracy theory, but as time has passed it’s become clear that there was indeed a long-range effort to corrupt our institutions with Communism 101 – reducing social acceptance of religion, turning education into indoctrination, and infiltrating government with the intelligentsia that thinks American values are outdated.
Now, at long last, we can see the fruit of the corrupt tree sprouting in our court system, where judges help illegal immigrants escape through the back door of the courtroom, where other judges demand the return of deported gang members or halt the deportation of antisemitic radicals, and where every effort to put America first is ruled unconstitutional.
Fighting back against the overreach of the judiciary must be Donald Trump’s No. 1 priority as he seeks to restore sanity to the federal government. Because the most important principle of constitutional law that is being decided in the next few months is whether the president is truly the chief executive or whether he serves at the pleasure of left-wing judges who put political passion ahead of national interests.
In the ultimate irony, the case must be decided by nine men and women in black robes, the justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. The fate of the nation’s future hinges on whether they will seek justice impartially or be swayed by partisan rancor.
Unfortunately, it’s an open question.
This article was originally published by RealClearPolitics and made available via RealClearWire.
There has been a virtually endless discussion on increasing the funding of our K-12 schools by increasing the Base Student Allocation.  But what has not really been debated is how does Alaska increase education opportunities for our children in the current K-12 system.
The entire focus has been on funding, and little on improving the current system.
It seems as if the majority of legislators believe that more funding will necessarily lead to better student outcomes and more educational opportunities.
Let’s take a look at what Gov. Mike Dunleavy proposed in his HB 204 and what the legislature majority supported in HB 57. Â
Which legislation would lead to better student opportunities and outcomes?
Proposed Improvement
Governor’s Bill, HB 204
Legislature Majority Bill, HB 57
Reading Incentive
$450 Grant if Improvement Shown
$450 Grant if Improvement Shown
School District Boundaries
Allows Student to Attend Any Public School if Space Available
No Change in School Boundaries. Status Quo
Charter School Changes
Can Apply Anytime; Can Appeal Contract Termination; Final Appeal to DEED and State Board
Can Apply Anytime but School Board can Set Deadlines; Contract Termination Final Appeal Through the Courts
Correspondence School Funding
Increases From 0.9 to 1.0 BSA
No Change. Status Quo
Base Student Allocation
Increased by $560
Increased by $700
Vocational-Tech Education
No Change
Increased from 1.015 to 1.023BSA
Tracking High School Graduates
Not Included
Department of Labor Will Track HS students for 20 Years After Graduation
Most legislators support the Alaska Reads Act and have even offered financial incentives to districts to improve students’ reading ability from kindergarten through sixth grade. If we cannot teach children how to read, then we are stealing their futures for success.
The newly passed HB 57 really doesn’t open up any more opportunities for parents to choose better public school options for their children. Students are still fenced in to their ZIP code schools-their neighborhood schools.Â
On the other hand, Gov. Dunleavy’s legislation, HB 204, would have allowed parents to enroll their children in any public school district regardless of where they lived. Children would not be limited to zip code school boundaries.Â
And to ensure that parents were not wrongly refused the ability to enroll their students outside their ZIP code, the governor’s legislation required the districts to provide school enrollment information for every school to include capacity and available vacancies for each grade.
So, parents would know if there were available slots in a particular school for their child.
What about improving opportunities for more charter schools for our kids?
We know that our charter schools are some of the best public schools in the state. So, why don’t we replicate what is successful? It may be because the K12 monopoly sees charter schools as a threat to its brick-and-mortar schools.
Many parents would love to enroll their children in these successful schools but there are wait lists for most all the charter schools. And if a parent misses one of the charter school lotteries, then they usually miss out on enrolling a child forever because very few parents remove their children from those schools freeing up space. Sorry, there are no vacancies.
HB 57 provides some very ambiguous information on the regulation of charter schools.  It is wishy-washy at best.  There are no “teeth” in the bill to enforce these requirements on the districts.  And the school boards would still have all the power.
The school boards establishthe charter school contract requirements and also can terminate the contract if the school fails to comply with the contract terms.
HB 57 also says that the district shall give written notice to the charter school before terminating the contract.  Is this notice given one day before contract termination? Thirty days?  The time is open-ended and is detrimental to the charter school and its parents.
In HB 57 if a charter school’s contract is terminated, their only recourse is to the Department of Education & Early Development and then through the courts, not the State Board of Education.
Remember, the Family Partnership Charter School, the largest charter school in Alaska, whose contract was terminated because of a dysfunctional board? They had no recourse to the State Board of Education.
It takes a lot of time and expertise to start a charter school.
Parents must put together a +100-page business plan that describes the curriculum, financing, staff, and structure. They must also find a facility to house the school, which is the most difficult part.
Lower income parents don’t stand a chance to put together a charter school business plan without expert assistance. That assistance could come from the Department of Education & Early Development which could use a funded vacant position to provide expert help in overcoming obstacles.
HB 57 does nothing to help parents start a charter school. It merely maintains the status quo with the local school board in control.
Let’s look at Gov. Dunleavy’s legislation to see the opportunities for more charter schools.
The governor’s bill tightens up the language to terminate a charter school’s contract. It states that a charter school contract may only be terminated if the school fails to meet educational achievement goals or fiscal management standards or fails to comply with a material term of the contract.
The governor’s bill also gives the final decision on termination of a charter school to the DEED commissioner and eventually the State Board of Education. One does not have to resort to the courts for help.
Since the shutdown of our schools during Covid, Alaska’s Correspondence (home school) program has grown to nearly 23,000 students-about 17% of the entire Alaska student population. Parents saw what their kids were being taught and what they were not being taught and opted out of the neighborhood schools.Â
Many parents chose to home school their children rather than send them back to the neighborhood schools. But the funding of these home school students lacks equity with their counterparts in the neighborhood schools.
HB57 did not increase the funding of Correspondence students. It remains at an inequitable 0.9 of the BSA per student. Nor does the correspondence student funding go through the formula to add additional funding for different categories. This is unfair and considers the homeschool student as only a fraction of a brick-and-mortar student. This is just another attempt to keep education opportunities from challenging the education establishment. Monopolies do not like competition.
Governor Dunleavy’s bill provided equity funding to correspondence students by increasing the funding to a full BSA.  This would help parents pay for their child’s curricula, books, physical education, and tutoring. This would be a win for home school parents.
And why shouldn’t a home school student be worth the same as a brick and mortar school student? It’s all about equity.
One of the most concerning parts of HB57 is that the State’s Department of Labor will track high school graduates at 5 year intervals for 20 years. What is the State going to do with the data once it collects it? Will it look back to see if its K-12 education system has been successful? That would be kind of late to correct K12 systemic problems. Will it check to see if a student still lives in Alaska? What difference would that make?
Finally, tracking high school graduates may be a violation of Alaska’s Constitution.
Article 1, Section 22, Right of Privacy states, “The right of the people to privacy is recognized and shall not be infringed..  This alone could kill HB 57.
The governor’s bill has no tracking of high school graduates.
Here is a comparative summary of both pieces of legislation.
Gov. Dunleavy’s bill, HB 204, provides many more opportunities for students to choose the public school that fits them best.  It removes invisible ZIP code boundaries so a student can attend any public school, in district or out of district.  HB 57 fences students in to their local ZIP code school.
The governor’s bill allows charter schools to approve their termination to the State Board of Education, allowing investigation by a disinterested party. HB57 keeps the local school board in power by maintaining the status quo.
The governor’s bill provides equitable funding for correspondence students increasing funding the same as a brick-and-mortar student.  HB-57 does nothing.
The governor’s bill does not track high school graduates and protects their privacy. HB57 tracks high school graduates for 20 years and does not provide any use of the data.
The question is, “Which bill improves opportunities for public school choice and which bill merely protects the status quo of the current K-12 monopoly?
David Boyle is an education writer at Must Read Alaska.
President Donald Trump announced on social media a proposal to reopen the Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, the island prison in San Francisco Bay that once held some of America’s most famous criminals, including a notorious one from Juneau — Robert Stroud, better known as the “Birdman of Alcatraz.”
Although Alcatraz ceased operating as a federal prison in 1963 and has since become a national historic site managed by the National Park Service, Trump believes the island facility could be brought back into operation for some of America’s most violent criminals, who he intends to see brought to justice.
Stroud, who spent 17 years in the island penitentiary, was convicted in 1909 of manslaughter after shooting a bartender in Juneau during a dispute involving his mistress. Born in Seattle, he had left home at age 13 to escape his father, described in various accounts as abusive and alcoholic. By the age of 18, he was living in the Alaska Territory, where he became a pimp. During his incarceration, he had a reputation for violence, and in 1916, he fatally stabbed a prison guard.
Stroud became known for his interest in ornithology and for keeping and studying birds during his time in prison. Unlike the romanticized depiction in the movie, he was not allowed to keep birds while at Alcatraz. He had raised canaries at Leavenworth federal penitentiary, and he also served time at McNeil Island, where he was first placed after being held in a Juneau jail. He was eventually transferred to Alcatraz in 1942 and died in 1963 at the Medical Center for Federal Prisoners, in Springfield, Missouri. He was 73 and had spent 55 years in prison.
The 1962 film Birdman of Alcatraz, starring Burt Lancaster, made Stroud famous, although great liberties were taken with his life story, and the film did not include all of his violent episodes in prison. The prison also held Al Capone and George “Machine Gun” Kelly and was featured in the movies, “The Rock,” which starred Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage, and “Escape from Alcatraz,” starring Clint Eastwood.
“For too long, America has been plagued by vicious, violent, and repeat Criminal Offenders, the dregs of society, who will never contribute anything other than Misery and Suffering. When we were a more serious Nation, in times past, we did not hesitate to lock up the most dangerous criminals, and keep them far away from anyone they could harm. That’s the way it’s supposed to be,” Trump wrote on TruthSocial. “That is why, today I am directing the Bureau of Prisons, together with the Department of Justice, FBI, and Homeland Security, to reopen a substantially enlarged and rebuilt ALCATRAZ, to house America’s most ruthless and violent Offenders.”
Currently, the island is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and sees over a million tourists every year. The Federal Bureau of Prisons has no current authority over the island and it would cost an enormous sum to bring it up to standard, after it has been mothballed for 60 years.
