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Breaking: Gov. Dunleavy makes history, wins reelection

Suzanne Downing
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9
Breaking: Gov. Dunleavy makes history, wins reelection

Gov. Mike Dunleavy has won reelection with over 50% of the first-place votes cast. The Division of Elections ran the final remaining absentee ballots through the ballot tabulator, and while other statewide candidates will have to go through the ranked-choice process later today, not Gov. Dunleavy or Lt. Gov.-elect Nancy Dahlstrom. The final count for the pair was 50.28%.

He is the first Republican governor to be reelected in Alaska since Gov. Jay Hammond in 1978.

“Alaskans, thank you for voting and for your continued support over the past four years. From public safety and improving our education outcomes to growing our economy, I am honored to serve Alaskans for another four years,” Dunleavy said. He sees it as an affirmation of where the administration is going in addressing crime, the Permanent Fund dividend, and food security, as well as lowering energy costs. He said there is still a lot of work to do with food security, education and more.

Second-placer Democrat Les Gara received 24.21% of first-choice votes and Bill Walker, who served as governor from 2014-2018, was third with 20.73%. Charlie Pierce, former mayor of Kenai Borough, got 4.48% of the first-choice ballots.

Democratic former state lawmaker Les Gara earned 24% of first-choice votes. Independent former Gov. Bill Walker earned 21%. Both spent much of their campaigns attacking Dunleavy’s education and fiscal policies.

Republican former Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Charlie Pierce — who faces sexual harassment allegations from a former employee — earned less than 5% of first-choice votes after mounting a feeble campaign.

In Alaska’s ranked-choice voting, candidates that get more than 50%+1 votes do not go through the ranking process, in which second-, third-, and fourth-place votes are reassigned through a complicated system that many Alaskans still do not understand.

With 263,296 ballots counted in the governor’s race, how voters decided to rank other candidates on their ballots will be released at a later date.

For now, the Division of Elections is preparing to push the tabulation button so Alaskans will know how the other candidates in statewide and legislative races fared. That story will be posted soon.

Leak: Biden Administration to grant Chevron license to pump oil in Venezuela, where dirty oil is name of the game

Suzanne Downing
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19
Leak: Biden Administration to grant Chevron license to pump oil in Venezuela, where dirty oil is name of the game

The Biden Administration is preparing to give Chevron a license to pump oil again in Venezuela, news organizations reported on Wednesday, in what appears to be a coordinated news leak.

The policy would lead to other oil companies restarting business with Venezuela in response to the tensions with Russia, and the U.S. and Europe embargo on Russian energy, including oil, gas, and coal.

If the permit goes forward, Chevron would regain partial control of its mothballed oil-production and other facilities in the underproducing Venezuelan oil fields, where it still maintains a stake along with partner Petróleos de Venezuela SA, the state-owned oil company, according to the Wall Street Journal. It wouldn’t make additional investments in Venezuela until certain debts are repaid, the newspaper reported.

PDVSA, the government-owned company, owns the majority stakes in Chevron’s four onshore joint ventures in the country. Under the Trump administration, the company and others were banned from drilling or transporting oil from Venezuela, as Trump cracked down on money going to the corrupt government of socialist President Nicholas Maduro.

“Granting the new license is contingent on the Venezuelan government and its political opponents’ announcement, expected Saturday, to implement a $3 billion humanitarian program using Venezuelan funds unfrozen by the U.S. as well as an agreement to resume talks in Mexico City next month on resolving the country’s political crisis through free and fair elections, people familiar with the matter said. The talks would quickly set in motion U.S. authorization for Chevron’s return to Venezuela’s oil fields,” according to the Journal report, which cited unnamed sources familiar with the plan.

Chevron was the last major US oil company operating in Venezuela. It applied for permits to begin pumping oil again in early summer, with most of the oil destined to head to Europe, where energy supplies are low.

“Between the 25th and 26th of November, the dialogue between the [Venezuelan] Maduro government and the Venezuelan opposition will restart,” Colombian President Gustavo Petro wrote Wednesday on Twitter.

Oil from Venezuela is not top quality. It’s considered to be dirty oil, unlike oil from Alaska’s North Slope, where strong environmental standards are rigorous. Earlier this year, the Biden Administration cancelled drilling sales in Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico, saying there was a lack of interest among bidders. Instead, the administration is looking to socialist countries offering dirty oil.

The oil from Venezuela is In 2017, Reuters wrote that Venezuela’s state-run oil company was increasingly delivering poor quality crude oil to major refiners in the United States, India and China, resulting in repeated complaints, canceled orders and demands for discounts.

The disputes involved oil that was contaminated with high levels of salt, water, and metals, all of which cause refineries problems, Reuters wrote.

Quality issues stem from “shortages of chemicals and equipment to properly treat and store the oil, resulting in shutdowns and slowdowns at PDVSA production facilities, along with hurried transporting to avoid late deliveries, the sources said,” Reuters reported.

U.S. refiner Phillips 66 canceled at least eight crude cargoes because of poor oil quality in the first half of 2017 and demanded discounts on other deliveries, according to the PDVSA documents and employees from both firms. The canceled shipments – amounting to 4.4 million barrels of oil – had a market value of nearly $200 million, Reuters reported.

“Another key buyer of Venezuelan crude – India’s Reliance Industries Ltd RELI.NS, operator of the world’s largest refinery – has repeatedly complained about oil quality, a PDVSA employee told Reuters. State-run firm China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) also complained earlier this year about excessive water levels in oil cargoes, a former PDVSA employee said,” Reuters wrote.

It’s not just the Venezuelan oil that is dirty. Oil spills in Venezuela between 2020 and 2021 have caused serious damage to the environment, according to the Venezuelan Academy of Physical, Mathematical and Natural Sciences. Some 26,730 barrels of oil spilled on the the northwest coast, polluting the national park Morrocoy.

Colorado Springs gay nightclub shooter is non-binary, his attorney says, and uses ‘they/them’ pronouns

Suzanne Downing
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18
Colorado Springs gay nightclub shooter is non-binary, his attorney says, and uses ‘they/them’ pronouns

Mainstream media reports rushed to judgment after Saturday’s mass shooting at a Colorado Springs LGBTQ+ nightclub, where five people were killed and 17 were wounded before the shooter was stopped by people in the club. The media ruling and that of the LGBTQ+ community and allies was that it was a hate crime perpetuated by someone who hates LGBTQ+ people.

The man suspected of the shooting, Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22, faces murder and hate crime charges for Saturday night’s Club Q attack. He has been released from a hospital for injuries sustained after patrons stopped him, and is in jail.

Now, according to documents obtained by the New York Times, Aldrich’s attorney is claiming that Aldrich is “non-binary” and uses “they/them” pronouns.

Non-binary means that the person feels like they are neither male or female. There is no specific scientific basis for this and it is not the same as being a eunuch. They/them pronouns avoids assigning a gender to a person and is a trend now being used in schools, colleges, and by corporations.

The revelation makes it more interesting in the prosecution of the mass shooting as a hate crime, even if the survivors say that it is.

Aldrich has known mental health issues. He was arrested in 2021 after his mother reported to the county sheriff’s office that he was threatening to harm her with a homemade bomb and other weapons. At the time, he got into a standoff with authorities before he was arrested, but he was never prosecuted.

Authorities said the attack on Saturday was stopped by patrons of the club who took weapon from Aldrich and then beat him with it and pinned him down until police arrived.

Here’s how the New York Times reported it on Monday, promoting the narrative that it was the work of an anti-gay extremist:

“COLORADO SPRINGS — This community pressed up against the Rockies was known for years as the Vatican of Evangelicals — a home base for a well-funded, well-organized conservative Christian political movement that broadcast dire warnings about the dangers of homosexuality to the nation, and in the early 1990s was instrumental in making Colorado the only state to ever pass a law making it legal to discriminate against people based on sexual orientation.

“That was a long time ago, before Colorado Springs nearly doubled in size, outsiders made the city an increasingly diverse place and the community began hosting a yearly Pride parade officially sanctioned by the Republican mayor. Many in Colorado Springs believed the community had moved on.

“But last weekend when a gunman stormed into Club Q, one of the city’s few L.G.B.T.Q. clubs, killing five people and injuring 18 others, many members of the L.G.B.T.Q. community and their supporters found reason to question whether Colorado Springs had made as much progress as they thought — especially in an increasingly armed nation awash in extremist views.

“The authorities are now holding a suspect, Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22. He was released from the hospital and has been booked in El Paso County jail, according to a tweet from the Colorado Springs police on Tuesday. His motivations were still unclear.”

More information released on Tuesday shows that Aldrich’s father is a former gay porn star and that his mother has a history of troubles.

Year-end giving

Suzanne Downing
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4
Year-end giving

Dear Friend,

There’s so much to love about the Thanksgiving and Christmas season. Whether it’s the miraculous story of Jesus’ birth or the cherished time we spend with family and friends, this is truly a blessed time of year.

Must Read Alaska has reached close to 100m people on social media this year, 10m page views on the website, 10m impressions through our news syndication partnership with Newsbreak, and the Must Read Alaska Show is in the top 200 on iTunes in our category. It’s all for the cause of free people, free markets, and a free world.

But it’s not free to get this work done thoughtfully and out to the world day in, and day out, for the good people of Alaska, so we can keep our state on solid footing.

Thank you for being a reader, listener, supporter, and watcher of Must Read Alaska. We would love for you to consider a year-end gift for Must Read Alaska and help us battle the Left-Stream Media. Please share this story with a friend who you know loves freedom.

Please Consider Giving a $100 a month or $500 year end gift

Wishing You a Happy Thanksgiving, a Very Merry Christmas, and a great New Year!

~ Suzanne Downing

Must Read Alaska 

PS: Must Read Alaska has a Swag Store, with Christmas gifts for kids and adults. Check it out and spread the love — and the laughter.
Shop Here!

FTX scandal: Sam Bankman-Fried ran crypto exchange like a ‘personal fiefdom,’ and assets are ‘stolen or missing’

Suzanne Downing
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5
FTX scandal: Sam Bankman-Fried ran crypto exchange like a ‘personal fiefdom,’ and assets are ‘stolen or missing’

Collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX was under “the control of a small group of inexperienced and unsophisticated individuals, and unfortunately, the evidence seems to indicate that some or all of them are also compromised individuals,” a lawyer for FTX told the Delaware Bankruptcy Court on Tuesday.

“A substantial amount of [FTX’s] assets have either been stolen or are missing,” said James Bromley, of Sullivan and Cromwell, hired by FTX to represent it in the bankruptcy. It’s been widely reported that during and after the Nov. 11 bankruptcy declaration, the FTX exchange was hacked and assets were transferred.

“You have witnessed probably one of the most abrupt and difficult collapses in the history of corporate America,” Bromley said during the first of what will be many bankruptcy hearings.

The company declared bankruptcy after a run on its deposits left it $8 billion short.

Former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried ran FTX and its sister companies like his own “personal fiefdom,” Bromley said, as he explained to the court how the company collapsed within two weeks of a report from CoinDesk showed that FTX subsidiary Alameda Research had an inexplicably large number of FTT tokens that were issued by FTX.

Read CoinDesk: Bankman-Fried apologizes to FTX in letter leaked to reporter

FTX CEO Bankman-Fried, with his ill-gotten gains, was the second-largest funder for the Democratic Party, and funded the Alaska Democratic Party and Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s campaign for reelection in 2022. Bankman-Fried was second only to George Soros in funding liberal candidates and causes. Even Congresswoman Mary Peltola’s campaign benefited, through pass-through assistance from the Alaska Democratic Party and political action committees funded by Bankman-Fried.

RIP, FTX: Democrat Ponzi scheme whose founder conned billions and gave millions to leftist candidates like Peltola

Current CEO of FTX, John Jay Ray III, who was brought in to clean up the mess, is the former Enron scandal cleanup expert.

“Never in my career have I seen such a complete failure of corporate controls and such a complete absence of trustworthy financial information as occurred here. From compromised systems integrity and faulty regulatory oversight abroad, to the concentration of control in the hands of a very small group of inexperienced, unsophisticated and potentially compromised individuals, this situation is unprecedented,” Ray wrote in a declaration to the bankruptcy court.

“Since my appointment, I have worked around the clock with teams of professionals at Alvarez & Marsal, Sullivan & Cromwell, Nardello & Co., Chainalysis, Kroll and a confidential cybersecurity firm, to secure the assets of the Debtors wherever located, to identify reliable books and records, to assemble the information necessary to provide to this Court, and to respond to numerous inquiries from multiple regulators and government authorities including the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”), the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), and the U.S. Congress, among others,” he wrote.

Ray has over 40 years of legal and restructuring experience and was the chief restructuring officer or chief executive officer in several of the largest corporate failures in history. He supervised situations involving allegations of criminal activity and malfeasance (Enron). He supervised situations involving novel financial structures (Enron and Residential Capital) and cross-border asset recovery and maximization (Nortel and Overseas Shipholding). “Nearly every situation in which I have been involved has been characterized by defects of some sort in internal controls, regulatory compliance, human resources and systems integrity,” Ray wrote.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski received max campaign funding from FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried, who ripped off investors to support Democrats in office

“In the Bahamas, I understand that corporate funds of the FTX Group were used to purchase homes and other personal items for employees and advisors. I understand that there does not appear to be documentation for certain of these transactions as loans, and that certain real estate was recorded in the personal name of these employees and advisors on the records of the Bahamas,” Ray told the court.

FTX-related entities spent $300 million on real estate in the Bahamas for homes for the FTX executive team.

After Bankman-Fried left the company on Nov. 11, it was evident that “the emperor had no clothes,” legal counsel Bromley told the court.

Bankman-Fried hung onto power until the last hour, and didn’t decide to give up control of the firm until the morning of Nov. 11, after having consulted with his lawyers at the firm Paul Weiss, and with his father, Joe Bankman, who is a professor at Stanford Law School, Bromley said.

FTX has given the court redacted list of its top 50 creditors that are owed over $3.1 billion. The names of the creditors were redacted.

Read the Nov. 17 statement to the court by the current CEO of FTX, John Jay Ray III in support of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing:

FTX-declaration-by-John-Jay-Ray-IIIDownload
FTX link to war in Ukraine and Democrat campaign funds is disputed by mainstream media, but questions remain

Peltola hiring interns for D.C. office

Suzanne Downing
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56
Peltola hiring interns for D.C. office

Although the 2022 election has not been finalized, it’s apparent to most political observers that Congresswoman Mary Peltola, a Democrat, will win election to the two-year seat representing the state of Alaska.

The final results of the election will be determined at 4 pm on Wednesday by the Division of Elections, as the division runs the tabulation for the ranked-choice method of voting. Watch the tabulation as it is conducted at this link.

But meanwhile, Peltola, with a significant lead (she has 48.68% of the vote so far) went ahead and advertised today that she is hiring interns for her office in D.C. for spring.

“The Washington, D.C. Office of Representative Mary Sattler Peltola (D-AK) is seeking interns for the Spring 2023 term. This position offers an opportunity to learn about the U.S. House of Representatives and gain substantive work experience in an exciting and fast-paced office. Internships in the office are paid, available for college credit, or may be funded through another program or University. The hours generally run 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Interns will work for 12-16 weeks (January-May),” her office announced.

“In Washington, interns’ responsibilities will vary. They may be asked to answer phones, research legislation for the Member and legislative staff, attend hearings and briefings, and answer constituent letters on various issues before the House. As a result, interns learn about the legislative process and the many other functions of a congressional office.”

Applicants must submit:

 * Resume

 * Cover Letter

 * Writing Sample—1-page writing sample about a policy of your choice and its impact in your community.

Preference will be given to applicants who:

 * Are a current or former resident of Alaska

 * Have completed two semesters of college

Applications are due Dec. 5, 2022 and will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Completed applications for internships should be sent to [email protected]. In the subject of your email, follow this example: “Jane Doe Spring 2023 D.C. Internship Application”

More information about this opportunity at this link.

National Hockey League says ‘trans men are men’

Suzanne Downing
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24
National Hockey League says ‘trans men are men’

The National Hockey League has waded into the culture wars. In a message on Twitter, the League made the bold statement that trans men are men. That official position means that women who chemically and surgically alter themselves to appear as men must be recognized as men, regardless of science, an increasingly accepted anti-science position on the Left.

“The NHL is proud to support this past weekend’s Team Trans Draft Tournament in Middleton, Wisconsin. This was the first tournament comprised entirely of transgender and nonbinary players, with around 80 folks participating! #HockeyIsForEveryone #NHLPride,” the NHL tweeted Tuesday.

The conversation was picked up by a person who asked, “So, men playing on womans team?”

The NHL replied, “Trans women are women. Trans men are men. Nonbinary identity is real.”

The conversation picked up steam from there, with another person responding, “And just like that, the @NHL erased the special and unique places women hold in biology and history. Shame on you.”

And on the discussion went, with the NHL apparently not understanding its audience; most of the responses derided the NHL for going woke.

Ben Shapiro of the Daily Wire noted, “Amazing to watch sports leagues that rely on extraordinary performance by biological men (as well as the viewership of disproportionately male audiences) parrot the idiotic anti-biological garbage of the woke coterie. If this is true, why aren’t there any trans men in the NHL? They’re real men, after all. Must be terrible and vicious discrimination.”

Another responder told the NHL, “So you intentionally discriminated against ‘cis-gender people.’ Nice. Yes, I can play word games too.”

And before all was said and done with the NHL, came the inevitable… “I identify as a 1st round draft pick.. which team will I be placed on?”

Year-end giving

Sen. Hughes says Alaska voters chose Republicans, and Senate GOP should honor that by forming a majority

Suzanne Downing
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43
Sen. Hughes says Alaska voters chose Republicans, and Senate GOP should honor that by forming a majority

With 65% of first-choice votes cast by Alaskans for Alaska senate races in the general election going to Republicans, negotiations are under way to organize the Senate not as a Republican majority. Instead, elected Republicans are putting together a bipartisan majority, with Sen. Gary Stevens as the apparent Senate president, with Sen. Lyman Hoffman and Sen. Bert Stedman as Finance co-chairs.

The current idea of this planned bipartisan majority has Democrats in key positions, such as the chair of the powerful Rules Committee, which means a Democrat could stop any legislation from going to the floor.

But the current Majority Leader, Sen. Shelley Hughes of Palmer, says there is a better way and is urging her fellow Republicans to put together a Republican-led majority, presuming the final vote tally sends 11 Republican senators to Juneau.

“When 65 percent of voters cast their first-place vote for a Republican for state senate and a majority of Republicans are elected to the Senate,” Hughes said, “that is a clear signal Alaskans believe a right-of-center Senate Majority is best for our state. High inflation, gas, and energy prices; President Biden’s anti-resource development policies; and concerning social policies prompted voters to select right-leaning candidates to serve in our state Senate. Alaskans voted the way they did to help strengthen our economy, our communities, and our families.

“It is incumbent upon Republicans elected to the Senate to respect the will of the voters and join together in a Majority for the betterment of Alaska,” Hughes added. “We all understand that who the voters choose to serve greatly impacts our state, but we need to realize, too, how those who serve choose to form a Majority also greatly impacts our state.”

Due to the close 11-9 make-up of the Senate, several Democrats would be invited to join the proposed Senate Majority, as has been done numerous times in the past.

After discussions over months with colleagues about potential policy priorities around which members could coalesce, and more recent conversations about how the proposed majority could ensure passage of a reasonable budget, Hughes, along with some of her colleagues, offered a proposal for returning Republican and incoming Republican senators-elect to review and consider.

“The assumption that a group of some of the Republicans joining with all of the Democrats is the only option for a functional Majority is false. There is another reasonable and viable pathway forward that better reflects the will of Alaskans and would result in more positive outcomes for our state. As we approach the upcoming session, we hope to join together with all our Republican colleagues in the Senate Majority in acknowledgment of and respect for the voters,” she said.

Must Read Alaska acquired the plan that Hughes has offered to fellow Republicans to keep the majority in the Senate led by Republicans, which included putting a cap on the budget and separating out a vote on the Permanent Fund dividend appropriation, which is always a sticking point with lawmakers ever since former Gov. Bill Walker blew up the traditional formula in 2016. The plan obtained by MRAK follows:

Email-Hughes-to-Senate-RsDownload

It’s unclear that the current group crafting the majority will include the conservative members — Sen. Hughes, Sen. Mike Shower, and Sen. Rob Myers. Instead, it appears that the work underway with Sen. Stevens at the helm would give Sen. Bill Wielechowski, an Anchorage Democrat, a powerful position in leadership, along with at least one other Democrat, such as Sen. Lyman Hoffman, who almost always joins with the majority caucus.

Year-end giving

Does Starlink work in your area? If so, did the federal government just waste $660 million on Alaska broadband?

Suzanne Downing
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51
Does Starlink work in your area? If so, did the federal government just waste $660 million on Alaska broadband?

Must Read Alaska has heard from homeowners in rural areas of the Kenai Peninsula, villages in the Bethel region, and a couple of businesses in Bristol Bay: Alaskans off the beaten path have already hooked up to the new Starlink satellite internet system and they tell Must Read Alaska it’s working great for them.

It may not work for everybody, but the Starlink satellite internet seems to work best in rural areas, where the demand is lower than in urban areas. The satellites are small and have a small terrain coverage footprint; in urban areas, the demand on them may exceed their abilities as time goes on.

The new satellite internet in Alaska may be a game-changer, but people will have to pay for it. There’s an initial fee for the dish receiver and then $110 a month for the service, or about $3.36 a day. It’s also not the only game in town. There’s Alaska Satellite Internet, One Web Leo, and Pacific Dataport, covering the earth, including much of Alaska.

Meanwhile, over the past three years the federal government has awarded over $600 million grants to Alaska entities to build out broadband internet in areas of Alaska that have been without it. Even with that investment, there are about 150 communities that are still not served. For the ones that have been connected with the help of federal funds, some of the hookups have cost incredible amounts. For 270 households in Yakutat, for instance, it cost nearly $70,000 per household.

In one of the rounds of USDA funding for broadband, the 1,741 Alaska households cost $121,000 each to hook up.

In the last round of USDA funding that went to Tanana Chiefs Conference, four communities got broadband for a total of 75 households at a cost of $404,000 per household.

That’s where StarLink and other companies come in. Elon Musk’s Starlink company is going direct to the consumer, cutting out the middle man. While there are still middle-mile providers in Alaska that use satellites, with capacity sold through local entities, in a part of the world where there are regional communication monopolies, this StarLink breakthrough provides competition. With competition comes lower prices and innovation. It also may pose a real challenge to Alaska communications companies and telephone cooperatives.

“Alaska’s geography, terrain, climate, and vast size create significant obstacles to developing broadband infrastructure,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, earlier this year. Murkowski is a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “We know the digital divide is especially pronounced across rural Alaska and in Native villages. Yet, broadband is no longer a luxury; it is a necessity for modern life, providing access to health care, education, and more.”

Internet speed levels the playing field so that people can grow businesses in rural Alaska.

It’s still unclear whether the hundreds of millions of dollars of federal funds was like offering transistor radios to people who had moved on to smart phones. But the federal money came to Alaska and now many communities will have a belts-and-suspenders solution to internet connectivity. It may be the start of a lot of great Alaska-based businesses in remote parts of the state, businesses that cannot otherwise compete in a world of high-speed internet.

Is Starlink working for you? Put your comments and reviews of it in the comment section below.

Elon Musk: Starlink high-speed internet now available across Alaska
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