US Sen. Dan Sullivan is leading an effort to ensure the Korean War is remembered not as the “Forgotten War,” but as the “Noble War” — a chapter in American history marked by courage, sacrifice, and the defense of freedom.
On Tuesday, the Senate unanimously passed his resolution commemorating the 75th anniversary of the war’s outbreak and reaffirming the importance of military readiness.
Sullivan, a member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee and co-chair of the Senate Korea Caucus, said the resolution is meant to honor the men and women who fought in one of America’s most consequential but often overlooked conflicts. Alaska is home to more than 1,000 Korean War veterans, many of whom, Sullivan noted, served in brutal conditions and returned home with little recognition.
“On the 75th anniversary of the Korean War — the ‘Noble War’ — we should all remember the brave Americans who fought, died and sacrificed to keep another country free, the Republic of Korea, one of our strongest allies today,” Sullivan said.
The war began on June 25, 1950, when communist North Korea launched a surprise invasion of South Korea. Over the course of the three-year conflict, more than 1.7 million American troops served under the United Nations Command, over 103,000 were wounded, and 36,574 made the ultimate sacrifice. More than 7,500 remain unaccounted for.
The Sullivan resolution highlights the resilience of the South Korean people, who suffered enormous military and civilian casualties, and acknowledges the transformation of the Republic of Korea into a strong democracy, market economy, and steadfast US ally.
It also draws attention to the lessons learned from the war, particularly the high cost of unpreparedness, he said. Just five years after World War II, the US military had been drastically reduced in size and readiness. Sullivan’s resolution urges continued investment in military training, equipment, and support to ensure the U.S. is never again caught unready in a time of crisis.
Among its key points, the resolution:
Honors the service and sacrifice of US and allied forces during the Korean War;
Recognizes South Korea as a vital partner in promoting security and democratic values in the Indo-Pacific;
Emphasizes the enduring legacy of the war on US defense policy;
Calls for robust military readiness across all domains: land, sea, air, space, and cyber;
Encourages Americans to remember the Korean War as the “Noble War.”
The Senate’s unanimous passage of the resolution comes as veterans, their families, and allies across the country paused to reflect on the 75 years since the conflict began. With thousands of Korean War veterans still living — many in Alaska — Sullivan said the time to honor their legacy is now.
The Morning Midas, a 600-foot car carrier that had been burning at sea for nearly three weeks, has sunk in the North Pacific Ocean, according to an update from salvage operator Resolve Marine.
The vessel finally went down at approximately 4:35 pm local time on June 23, in international waters about 360 nautical miles from the nearest landmass, Adak. The water at the site is over 5,000 meters deep. The ship’s final moments followed weeks of firefighting efforts and worsening conditions that ultimately led to progressive flooding and structural failure, officials said.
The fire aboard the Morning Midas began on June 3, while the vessel was en route from Yantai, China, to Lázaro Cárdenas, Mexico. Smoke was first detected coming from a deck carrying electric vehicles. Despite the crew’s efforts to activate onboard suppression systems and emergency firefighting protocols, the blaze intensified rapidly. All 22 crew members were forced to abandon ship and were rescued unharmed by a merchant vessel.
Built in 2006 and sailing under a Liberian flag, the Morning Midas was transporting 3,159 vehicles when the fire broke out, including 65 fully electric vehicles and 681 hybrid electric vehicles. The ship was also carrying approximately 350 metric tons of gas fuel and 1,530 metric tons of other fuel oil, the Coast Guard said.
The Coast Guard confirmed that safety and environmental protection remain top priorities as recovery and monitoring efforts continue. Two salvage tugs outfitted with pollution control equipment are on site, monitoring for signs of oil or debris. No pollution has been reported so far, and all response crews remain safe. A specialized pollution response vessel is also en route to the area as a precaution.
The Morning Midas incident has drawn renewed attention to the risks posed by transporting electric vehicles and lithium-ion batteries at sea. The cause of the fire has not yet been officially determined.
For background on the original fire and crew rescue, see Must Read Alaska’s first report:
Thomas G. Porter of Palmer, born in Falfurrias, Texas on Sept. 29, 1946 to Thomas G. Porter, Sr. and Laverne Elizabeth Otto Porter, entered Glory on June 20, 2025.
Tom and Carolyn McPhee married in 1980; they have one daughter, Jennifer Noelle Bailey, of Wasilla.
Tom grew up in Falfurrias, Texas and graduated from Falfurrias High School. He had two younger brothers, Ronald Karl Porter and Gregory Garth Porter. During high school he played baseball, obtained his private pilot’s license, and worked at his grandfather’s water well business. Tom was active in Boy Scouts of America and attained the rank of Eagle Scout. He was also inducted into the Order of the Arrow. After graduation he attended West Texas A&M University in Canyon, Texas. It was there he experienced snow for the first time.
While in college, he enlisted in the United States Army, Army Security Agency, attaining a top-secret cryptographic clearance. Following additional training for his duties, he deployed to Vietnam and served in the Central Highlands with the First Infantry Division. He was later based in Berlin, Germany.
After receiving an honorable discharge from the Army, Tom attended Amarillo College, attaining an Associate’s Degree in Criminal Justice Administration. In 1971, he applied to and was accepted by the Amarillo, Texas Police Academy. He remained with the Amarillo Police Department for 30 years, attaining the rank of Sergeant. His duties included serving as a Field Training Officer, firearms instructor, and sniper on the S.W.A.T. team. Additionally, he was assigned to the Crime Prevention Unit as the primary Public Information Officer, and he was 1 of 2 ritualistic crimes investigators. He served as a hostage negotiator, special crimes investigator, and was a robbery detective.
Tom Porter, longtime police officer in Amarillo, Texas.
Tom retired from the Amarillo Police Department after 30 years and accepted the position of captain of the Juneau Police Department in Juneau, where he later retired as the assistant chief of police. Following retirement from Juneau, he and Carolyn traveled in their RV for seven years, finally returning to Palmer.
During this time, he was a contract law enforcement Instructor for the US Department of Justice. He taught law enforcement in Pakistan and Bangladesh. He also served as a Contract Court Security Officer for the United States Marshall’s Service.
During his life Tom was active in firearms training, cowboy action shooting, fishing, reading, outdoor cooking, smoking meats, and traveling. He was a member of Immanuel Baptist Church, Palmer; Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #9365; associate member of the Matsu Republican Women’s Club; former member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police; and numerous law enforcement and other professional organizations.
Tom is survived by his wife of 45 years, Carolyn; his daughter, Jennifer Noelle Bailey and her husband, Thaddeus Bailey, and soon-to-be-born grandson of Wasilla; brother, Ronald Porter (Patricia), of Spring, Texas; and brother Gregory Porter (Julie), of Thorndale, Texas. He is also survived by his brother-in-law David McPhee (Carol) of Manitou Springs, Colo. and brother-in-law Chuck Bosnos, of Fountain Hills Ariz.; as well as many friends, several beloved nieces and nephews, and his brothers and sisters in law enforcement. He was preceded in death by his parents, Thomas (Ted) and Laverne Porter.
A celebration of life will take place on July 12 at Immanuel Baptist Church, 7540 E. Cottrell-Campus Drive, Palmer. Burial will be at Fort Richardson National Cemetery in Anchorage at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Immanuel Baptist Church, Palmer, AK, the Matsu Republican Women’s Club, Tunnel to Towers Foundation, or Samaritan’s Purse.
Oil markets responded on Tuesday to reports that Shell is in early discussions to acquire rival BP, in what could become the largest oil industry deal in decades.
According to The Wall Street Journal, which cited unnamed sources familiar with the matter, the acquisition talks are in preliminary stages and could potentially value BP at over $80 billion.
Shell publicly denied any active negotiations and called the reports “market speculation,” in a statement aimed at quelling mounting investor questions. Still, the buzz sent BP shares sharply higher during early trading hours on June 25, with a spike of 6.5% to 10% before settling at a more modest 1.7% gain by the close. Shell’s shares, on the other hand, dipped between 1% and 3%.
If a deal were to proceed, it could reshape the global energy landscape by creating a European oil supermajor to rival American giants like ExxonMobil and Chevron. Such a move would face a complex web of regulatory scrutiny, particularly from competition and antitrust authorities in both the UK and the European Union.
Some sources, including CNBC, have suggested a full acquisition may be unlikely. One scenario under consideration involves breaking BP into parts to be sold off to multiple buyers — including Shell.
For now, talks appear to be progressing slowly, with no agreement on the table and no certainty that a deal will be finalized.
Anchorage Assemblyman Chris Constant is now offering conflicting explanations for his boorish behavior during a recent committee meeting, where he was caught on video appearing to mouth the words “F— you” to a member of the public who was waiting to testify.
Initially, Constant denied the accusation and claimed he was misunderstood. “Wow did that story take off — it was gaslighting of an extraordinary type,” he told the audience at the Anchorage Assembly on Tuesday, insisting that he was not addressing the woman in the audience but was instead telling someone at the meeting that there was a seat “for you.”
Watch as a member of the public professionally tells it like she sees it regarding Anchorage's mismanagement of the homeless population, and then calls out the Assembly Chairman Chris Constant for mouthing 'F-U' at her. You can see him do it at the end of this recording. pic.twitter.com/uF3iXrEYCp
Constant also explained on Tuesday about his abrupt departure from the prior week’s meeting, saying he received a text from his sister about his mother’s health. “That wasn’t going very well,” Constant said of his mother’s condition, and saying that is why he had to leave.
However, Must Read Alaska has obtained an email sent by Constant to a member of the public that contradicts his public explanation.
In that email, Constant wrote:
“I was due at another meeting 20 minutes prior to the moment that was shared on video. I was on my phone telling the people who I was late for my next meeting and that I was on my way. But cool. Be mad. I said nothing on my way out the door. That’s a great story people are sharing. Funny thing is, I have been lied about so often, it has no power anymore.”
The email, which we are publishing below in full, makes no mention of a family emergency or his mother’s health. Instead, it presents an entirely different reason for his departure: a scheduling conflict.
The woman who was the target of the profane comment had been waiting to speak during the public testimony portion of the committee meeting.
Constant, who chairs the Anchorage Assembly, has a history of contentious interactions with members of the public who disagree with him, and has special venom for the group Save Anchorage, who the woman is associated with.
The discrepancy between Constant’s email account and his public statement raises questions about whether he has been truthful about the incident — considering his hostile body language when he mouthed the expletive — and his now questionable motivations for walking out of the meeting.
Another view of Constant mouthing “F–U” can be seen at 1:29:55 time in this video:
In a sudden and unexplained reversal, Anchorage Assembly Chairman Chris Constant on Tuesday night rescinded a motion that had previously a September public hearing on his proposed ranked-choice voting ordinance. The decision to cancel the hearing was made without discussion or explanation, and the Assembly voted unanimously to rescind the previously scheduled hearing date.
The proposal, Ordinance No. AO 2025-58, was intended to give Anchorage voters a chance to weigh in on whether municipal elections should adopt the ranked-choice voting system already in use for state elections. The ordinance would amend the Anchorage Home Rule Charter and revise Municipal Code Title 28 to implement RCV for mayoral and Assembly races.
Originally, the Assembly had set a public hearing for Sept. 9, a required step before placing the measure on the April 2026 ballot for voter consideration. Constant’s motion to cancel the hearing halts that process — at least for now.
Constant, who is term-limited and expected to leave office next year, has previously stated his intention to see ranked-choice voting adopted for Anchorage elections before his departure. His decision Tuesday night, made without comment, leaves the future of the proposal uncertain.
Ranked-choice voting has voters rank candidates in order of preference rather than choosing just one. If no candidate receives a majority of first-choice votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and ballots for that candidate are redistributed based on the next-ranked choice. The process continues until a candidate achieves a majority.
The system is a point of political contention across Alaska. While it is currently in place for state-level elections following a narrowly approved 2020 ballot initiative, a second citizen-led repeal effort is actively collecting signatures to place an anti-RCV measure on the ballot. The repeal campaign argues that RCV is confusing, burdensome, and undermines electoral transparency.
In addition to being used in Alaska’s state elections, RCV has also been implemented in New York City for local elections. There, it has led to a Muslim Socialist winning the Democratic primary for mayor.
The system is also being proposed for adoption in Juneau’s municipal elections.
Constant’s withdrawal of the Anchorage proposal’s hearing means that, for now, the RCV measure will not advance. It remains to be seen whether the Assembly will revisit the issue later this year or if Constant will reintroduce a similar ordinance before his term ends.
Republicans warn that Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani’s victory in New York City’s mayoral primary means his far-left platform could raise taxes, spike crime, and usher in ultra-liberal policies for the nation’s largest city.
Mamdani, a state assemblyman from Queens, pulled off a stunning upset Tuesday over former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the crowded Democrat primary. While the election will technically be decided by another ranked-choice tally next week — as nobody received 50% of the vote — Cuomo conceded the race Tuesday night and congratulated Mamdani on his victory.
“Tonight, we made history,” Mamdani, 33, said in a speech to supporters Tuesday night. “If this campaign has demonstrated anything to the world, it’s that our dreams can become reality.”
The outcome sets the stage for a November showdown with incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat who is running for reelection as an independent candidate. Cuomo, who has qualified to appear on the independent line, could also still be on the general election ballot.
But Mamdani’s victory in the primary drew a mix of condemnation and criticism from Republicans, many of whom scoffed at the idea of a Democratic socialist being in charge of the Big Apple.
“Leave it to the radical left that has taken over the Democrat party in New York City,” Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis, a Staten Island Republican, posted on social media. “Make no mistake … If Mamdani is elected mayor, it will be bad for public safety, law enforcement, taxpayers and businesses.”
Rep. Elise Stefanik, a Republican who is considering a run for governor next year, took aim at Gov. Kathy Hochul after the Democrat posted a lukewarm congratulations to Mamdani hours after he declared victory.
“New Yorkers understand that Kathy Hochul and Far Left Socialist Democrats are destroying our great state with sanctuary state and defund the police policies, high taxes, and raging antisemitism combined with failed, ineffective, and bloated government paid for by hardworking New Yorkers,” Stefanik posted on X. “She owns this catastrophe.”
Rep. Mike Lawler, a Hudson Valley Republican, also poked at Hochul and other New York Democrats over support for Mamdani, saying they have “embraced the absolute worst of their party.”
“A radical, antisemitic socialist was just nominated to be the Democratic candidate for mayor of New York City — and Kathy Hochul didn’t lift a finger to stop it from happening,” he said in a statement. “On Kathy’s watch, millions of hard-working taxpayers have fled New York State, and now the mass exodus will begin from New York City as Zohran Mamdani runs it into the ground.”
Mamdani, 33, was first elected to the Assembly in 2021. He was endorsed by some of Democratic Party’s most prominent progressives, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, of New York, and Sen. Bernie Sanders from Vermont.
He has vowed, if elected, to eliminate fares to ride New York City’s public bus system, make the City University of New York “tuition-free” and freeze rents in municipal housing.
Republican Curtis Sliwa, a longtime New York City activist and founder of the Guardian Angels — who easily won Tuesday’s GOP mayoral primary as the lone candidate — said Mamdani isn’t the right candidate for New Yorkers.
“Zohran Mamdani is too extreme for a city already on edge,” Sliwa posted on social media. “This is not the time for radical politics. It is time for real leadership.”
In a statement, the National Republican Congressional Committee blasted New York Democrats for picking an “antisemitic socialist radical” who as mayor will “defund the police, abolish prisons, and institute socialist government grocery stores while massively raising taxes on working New Yorkers.”
Even White House senior advisor Stephen Miller weighed in on the results of the primary, chalking up Mamdani’s political rise to the impact of immigration on the Democratic Party’s voting base.
“The commentary about NYC Democrats nominating an anarchist-socialist for Mayor omits one point: how unchecked migration fundamentally remade the NYC electorate,” Miller posted on X following Tuesday’s results. “Democrats change politics by changing voters. That’s how you turn a city that defined U.S. dominance into what it is now.”
In an earlier Must Read Alaska column, I wrote about upcoming changes in membership of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices made by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. I also discussed the angst this produced in the medical community from the status quo physicians. Read about that here:
In announcing his decision, RFK Jr. stated “the slate includes highly credentialed scientists, leading public-health experts, and some of America’s most accomplished physicians. All of these individuals are committed to evidence-based medicine, gold-standard science, and common sense.”
This week we saw the exciting news that Dr. Robert Malone was named as co-chair of the ACIP.
In 2021 we were fortunate to have Dr. Malone as one of our speakers at the first Alaska Covid Alliance conference.
His comment on this appointment to ACIP was, “I did not wish for this, but I will do my best to be objective, honest, transparent, and rigorous, and to act with integrity.”
I’ve included a link to Dr. Malone’s 2021 Alaska presentation to refresh your memory and provide new information for some.
His research in mRNA provided Alaskans valuable information and helped form individual decisions on Covid jabs based on that knowledge.
Since that initial 2021 conference, we have evolved from the Alaska Covid Alliance tothe Alaskans 4 Personal Freedomto broaden our mission beyond Covid policy.
This year we will have our all-day event on Oct. 11 at the Wendy Williams Auditorium on the University of Alaska Anchorage campus, with lunch included.
Once again, we have a truly great lineup of nationally recognized experts:
· Dr. Ilona Farr, our very own board-certified family medicine provider with a private practice in Anchorage, will give opening remarks.
· Mary Holland J.D., president and general counsel at Children’s Health Defense, will discuss vaccine litigation cases and their successes. Robert F Kennedy Jr. founded the Children’s Health Defense.
· Michael Ashley is a former Disney screenwriter and professional speaker. Michael serves as a columnist with Forbes, Entrepreneur and Green Entrepreneur. He will discuss Artificial Intelligence and how it affects our children.
· Dr. James Lindsay is an American author and mathematician known for his work in criticism of postmodernism. He will discuss the rise of Marxism in our culture. As last year’s keynote speaker he was outstanding.
· Dr. Pierre Kory is a critical care physician and president and co- founder of the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance (FLCCC) now known as the Independent Medical Alliance. This will be his first visit to Alaska. He is an expert in long Covid.
· Dr. Ryan Cole is a board certified clinical and anatomic pathologist and Chief Medical Officer and Lab Director of Cole Diagnostics in Boise Idaho. He has presented at our conferences numerous times and has discussed cancers on the rise following Covid-19 shots.
· Dr. Meryl Nass is an internal medicine physician who is extremely knowledgeable in the World Health Organization, Bird Flu, and the globalists’ desires to control our food supply.
· Dr. Paul Thomas is a pediatrician in Oregon who will discuss vaccine schedules and your children. Parents you won’t want to miss knowing about children’s vaccines.
As we get closer to the event, I’ll provide more details but mark your calendar, for this is an event you cannot afford to miss. In one place you can hear experts speaking on children’s vaccines, the sudden rise in cancers, the control of the world food supply, the effects of artificial intelligence on our children, the rise of Marxism in our own country, and the success of court cases involving Covid.
We are excited about our slate of speakers and look forward to seeing you on October 11. Save the date!
Linda Boyle, RN, MSN, DM, was formerly the chief nurse for the 3rd Medical Group, JBER, and was the interim director of the Alaska VA. Most recently, she served as Director for Central Alabama VA Healthcare System. She is the director of the Alaska Covid Alliance/Alaskans 4 Personal Freedom.
I am responding to various reactions to the Governor’s Alaska Sustainability Conference. Some have wondered why there was so much focus on oil and gas at this time, and so little discussion about greenhouse gas emissions and other concerns of the green energy coalition. The answer lies in economics and jobs. Natural gas and crude oil can be exported relatively easily.
For some time now, I’ve been aware that we face problems with vocabulary and definitions during this “climate crisis.” We need a reality check: Can we actually create wealth from renewable energy sources such as wind and solar?
I’ve been particularly disturbed by the green definition of sustainability, which seems more about forcing a transition to energy sources for which we are not yet ready. Sustainability isn’t truly achieved if the energy source isn’t continuous, or if no long-duration energy source is available. The profitability of fossil fuels is far more attractive compared to wind and solar, which are not easily exported and provide only low energy-density power.
Sustainability principles, such as ESG (environmental, social, and governance — or sometimes interpreted as environmental, social, and economic), were largely absent from the conference.
Sustainability for energy in Alaska must mean ensuring that there is enough of the right kinds of energy for Alaskans — enough to support thriving businesses and industries, to allow citizens to survive and prosper, and to enjoy the bounty of our land. Energy sources must be location-appropriate, leveraging the unique resources available in each region (i.e., hydro, wind, solar). However, the broad sustainability principles used to justify the green energy movement are not currently applicable in Alaska. Prolonged cold and darkness for much of the year demand a continuous fuel supply and readily available backup fuel.
A continuous flow of high energy-density natural gas is one way to achieve sustainability. Long-duration energy storage, such as pumped hydro, is another solid option. In remote communities where wind and solar have successfully displaced some diesel use, these communities will still need to rely on diesel fuel and internal combustion generators as backup and long-term storage.
Since 1980, I’ve believed that hydrogen produced by solar-powered electrolysis of water could help provide long-duration energy storage in remote areas. Today, the focus seems to be on large hydrogen energy hubs rather than small hydrogen generation plants. I’m not sure we’ll ever see hydrogen widely used in villages. I’ve also considered converting gaseous hydrogen to methanol, which allows easier storage and enables the use of engines similar to those running on diesel.
Once construction is complete, the jobs it creates are gone. That’s true of all construction projects. However, most result in some permanent positions for operation and maintenance. Construction also sparks the birth of new businesses that arise to meet emerging needs. The major long-term benefit of a project like AKLNG will be the royalties to the State of Alaska from LNG sales worldwide, boosting the state treasury and supporting projects and services throughout Alaska.
The Trump Administration has promoted streamlining the permitting process to make beneficial projects viable in a shorter timeframe. At the conference, there was discussion about the burdensome nature of the current permitting process and proposed reforms that would reduce the influence of factors not directly related to the project.
Reducing unnecessary regulations does not mean oil, gas, or mining projects will damage the land, but it does allow for a predictable timeline and profitability, which ultimately benefits Alaskans. Alaska still intends to “do it better than anyone else.”
Then there are those who claim combustion engines are outdated or obsolete. But there is nothing outdated about combustion-based energy generation. These systems have proven reliable over time and are far more adaptable to varied circumstances than wind and solar. Fossil fuels offer the most condensed energy form, requiring less space. By contrast, wind and solar projects often consume large swaths of land.
There’s also concern about dismantling equipment and infrastructure once oil and gas projects end. But we should have similar concerns for wind and solar projects when they reach the end of their useful lives. Ideally, we have learned from past mistakes and now incorporate end-of-life planning into our project designs.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright stated, “Energy. It’s about people and math.” Some critics feel he emphasized profit over people. But if there’s no profit, there’s no payroll. Under capitalism, people benefit where there is profit. Profit allows for expansion, creating more projects and more jobs. Alaskans want energy, jobs, and a functioning economy. Profitability is necessary. This isn’t about building monuments, but about building energy and power systems that serve real needs.
There is understandable concern that the AKLNG project won’t benefit remote communities. But in fact, all Alaskans benefit from a stable energy supply in the Railbelt. If business collapses in Anchorage and Fairbanks due to energy shortages, support services that benefit rural communities will also vanish. That would increase pressure on subsistence lifestyles and require more time and effort just to survive.
Much is said about solar being cheaper than natural gas. But when I look at other states with significant wind and solar development, I see higher electricity prices. So maybe the panels themselves are cheap, but grid integration is expensive. Rooftop solar remains popular for residential and commercial properties and is growing in Alaska. However, utility-scale solar installations require far more equipment and infrastructure to interface with the grid, which drives up actual costs.
Planning for the future of Alaska’s energy systems becomes much easier when we honestly assess our weather and climate and understand the impacts on the land and sea. We must build systems that are adaptable to our changing environment — changes we can both predict and plan for.
Robert Seitz is a professional electrical engineer and lifelong concerned Alaskan.
