National: Patriot Act renewal sought By LAWRENCE M. O'ROURKE - In the immediate aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, a resolute Congress overwhelmingly approved President's Bush's request for granting much tougher powers to police to prevent a reoccurrence.

While some in Congress and the civil liberties movement objected to some provisions in the president's proposal as invasions of individual rights, Congress enacted the Patriot Act within six weeks of the 9/11 attacks. - More...
Tuesday - July 12, 2005

National: From escalators to chicken fat, energy bill covers it all By JAMES BROSNAN - The congressional prescription for the nation's energy future may include escalators in federal buildings that only run when a rider steps near.

Or Grand Canyon tour buses fueled by hydrogen.

Or diesel fuel made from mustard seeds.

Or diesel fuel made from chicken fat.

Or not.

Members of Congress and their staffs will sort through these and hundreds of other provisions during negotiations this week to reconcile the equally massive Senate and House versions of the energy bill. The talks are aimed at breaking a three-year stalemate on a national energy policy. - More...
Tuesday - July 12, 2005

National: Study finds wide coverage gap in new Medicare drug plan By LEE BOWMAN - Medicare's new drug benefit will cover less than half the annual bills for patients who have high or catastrophic prescription expenses during the program's first three years, according to an analysis published Tuesday.

In the first study of its kind, researchers estimate that the average Medicare patient who spends more than $2,250 on prescriptions next year will accumulate nearly $11,000 in out-of-pocket costs between 2006 and 2008. A patient who spends more than $5,100 a year on drugs next year would face out-of-pocket costs of $12,300 during the same period. - More...
Tuesday - July 12, 2005

National: Iraq's tech-savvy insurgents find supporters on Internet By JONATHAN CURIEL - Insurgents and their supporters have created a sophisticated network on the Internet to help them recruit suicide bombers to Iraq, according to interviews with terrorism experts and a review of the online material.

Using the latest technology available to anyone with a laptop, they are publishing detailed videos of hostage killings, online magazines that recap violent actions in and around Baghdad, and dense manuals that explain everything from how to enter Iraq illegally to how to make a suicide bomb vest or plant deadly explosives. - More...
Tuesday - July 12, 2005

'Tongass Water Taxi' Front Page Photo by Lisa Thompson

Alaska: ADF&G Seeking Public Comment on Draft Mariculture Regulations - The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) is seeking public comment on proposed regulatory changes that implement House Bill 198, thereby bringing the state's Aquatic Farm Regulations into compliance with a recent Alaska Supreme Court decision. - More...
Tuesday - July 12, 2005

Alaska: Commissioner Appoints New Executive Director of the Board of Game - Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) Commissioner McKie Campbell today announced the appointment of Kristy Tibbles as the Executive Director for the Alaska Board of Game.  The position became available earlier this month after the resignation of Executive Director Landa Baily. - More...
Tuesday - JUly 12, 2005

Scientists and crew aboard the Northwest Explorer begin to sort a large catch of flatflash along the Alaska Peninsula Photo: NOAA Fisheries

Ketchikan: Research Vessels Begin Gulf of Alaska Biennial Bottom Trawl Survey - Three vessels chartered by the Alaska Fisheries Science Center have begun more than two months of scientific bottom trawl surveys in the Gulf of Alaska, continuing data-gathering that has gone on every two or three years since 1984. These data are used to help determine future management decisions regarding fishing activities in the Gulf of Alaska.  

Scientists on the Sea Storm, the Gladiator, and the Northwest Explorer are expected to complete about 800 survey trawl hauls over an 80-day period along the continental shelf and upper continental slope of the Gulf of Alaska. They started May 18 in Dutch Harbor. The Gladiator will end its 65-day charter in Kodiak around July 21. The other two vessels are expected to end their charters in early August in Ketchikan. - More...
Tuesday - July 12, 2005

Viewpoints Opinions/Letters Where does the Alaskan oil go? By John B. Hughes - Tuesday Retort: Beating a Dead Horse By Don Hoff Jr. - Tuesday More Viewpoints/ Letters Publish A Letter Dont drive and talk By: Tab The Calgary Sun Distributed exclusively by Cagle Cartoons, Inc. Political Cartoonists Ketchikan Calendar, Meetings, Events Today's Forecast City Police Report 07/11/05 AK Troopers Daily Dispatch Classifieds & Announcements July 2005 Click on the date for stories and photos published on that day... S M T W T F S 26 27 28 29 30 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31             Front Page Archives

Science: Research promises new way to fight for drug-resistant bacteria By LEE BOWMAN - The Staph bacteria that cause some of the deadliest infections use a protective golden armor to thwart the immune system, researchers reported Monday.

The discovery offers a new target for drugs that could be used against bacteria that are becoming increasingly resistant to standard antibiotics, the scientists said.

"Instead of attempting to kill the bacteria directly with standard antibiotics, a treatment strategy to inhibit the Staph pigment would disarm the pathogen, making it susceptible to clearance by our normal immune defenses," said Dr. Victor Nizet, an infectious disease specialist at Children's Hospital, San Diego, and senior author of the study. - More...
Tuesday - July 12, 2005

Science: Obesity's new peril - 'double diabetes' By DORSEY GRIFFITH - The obesity epidemic appears to be fueling a hybrid type of diabetes that afflicts adults and children and, some believe, may increase the devastating complications of the disease.

Dubbed "double diabetes" by some and "diabetes one-and-a-half" by others, the combination of types 1 and 2 diabetes symptoms confounds doctors attempting to accurately diagnose patients and find the best medicines to treat them. - More...
Tuesday - July 12, 2005

International: Canadian store lets slip the new Harry Potter By JAMES ADAMS - Until 12:01 a.m. Saturday, they're the 14 most valuable books in the world.

And the Canadian publisher of the sixth novel in the Harry Potter series is hoping no one takes advantage of that after it learned last Friday that a British Columbia supermarket had sold at least 14 hardcover copies of the novel in advance of its much-publicized worldwide publication date of July 16. - More...
Tuesday - July 12, 2005

National: Cat's out of the bag on pet risk on planes By CHRIS WALSH - After arriving in Atlanta on a Frontier Airlines flight from Denver, Mr. Baby accidentally was placed on a baggage conveyor belt instead of being carried to the main terminal.

The result: a scratched nose, broken nails and "emotional trauma."

But Denver-based Frontier - known for the animal images that adorn its planes - smoothed over the situation, agreeing to pay for related medical expenses and disciplining the employee who made the mistake.

Mr. Baby, a Cornish rex cat, is one of 10 animals that were injured, killed or even lost on U.S. airlines in May, according to a new monthly government report that tracks such data for the first time and shows that most pet travel is relatively safe. - More...
Tuesday - July 12, 2005