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Watch: Lawmaker Says Obama Has Gone ‘Completely Whacko’ With Alaska Wilderness Decision By Pete Kasperowicz Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) teed off on President Barack Obama on Monday for his attempt to designate millions of acres of land in his home state, a move that Young and others said would make it harder for Alaska to develop its resources. Young joined Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R) and Dan Sullivan ... Read more »

Alaska officials say offshore drilling plan likely to take some Arctic locations off table By DAN JOLING ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The federal Department of the Interior will make additional areas of Arctic Ocean waters off-limits to drilling when it announces a new five-year offshore drilling plan, a member of the Alaska congressional delegation said Monday. U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said she... Read more »

Obama's Arctic power grab President’s green push trumps Alaska’s long battle over ANWR By ANDREW RESTUCCIA President Barack Obama’s quest to burnish his environmental legacy just landed in Alaska’s oil patch. The Obama administration’s surprise plan to impose new environmental protections on 12 million acres of Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge poured fuel on the long-running fight over dri... Read more »

GOP rips Obama’s bid to block drilling By Timothy Cama Alaska’s all-Republican delegation vowed Monday to fight tooth and nail against President Obama’s proposed drilling restrictions in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). The lawmakers lambasted the plan, calling it symptomatic of an administration that doesn’t care about Alaska or about Congress. “This administration is willing to negoti... Read more »

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Alaska’s Congressional Delegation and Gov. Bill Walker today denounced President Obama and Interior Secretary Sally Jewell for launching an unprecedented assault on Alaska that will have long-lasting effects on the state’s economy and the nation’s energy security. In coordination with the White House, Secretary Jewell will announce this week – starting today – that she will lock... Read more »

Obama plans to block development in Arctic refuge; Alaska leaders irate By Richard Mauer, Alex DeMarban, Nathaniel Herz President Barack Obama said Sunday that he planned to ask Congress to declare much of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as wilderness, including its 1.5-million-acre coastal plain, an area on Alaska’s North Slope suspected to contain vast reserves of oil and gas. The designatio... Read more »

Obama to seek wilderness designation for Alaska refuge By Rod Boyce FAIRBANKS - The Obama administration on Sunday recommended the full Arctic National Wildlife Refuge be designated as wilderness, igniting outrage among Alaska’s all-Republican congressional delegation and others in the state. Wilderness status supporters in Alaska and the Lower 48 praised the Obama administration’s proposal. The r... Read more »

EDITORIAL: Obama 'declares war' on Alaska On Sunday, President Obama declared war on Alaska. So say Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Sen. Dan Sullivan. In a statement released on the first day of the week, the president announced that he plans to ask Congress to declare 12.2 million acres of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as wilderness, including the refuge’s coastal plain. ANWR’s coastal plain is tho... Read more »

Obama proposes new restrictions in ANWR; delegation calls move a ‘war declaration’ By Kyle Hopkins In a move the state Congressional delegation and governor are calling a war declaration on Alaska’s future, President Obama will propose designating 12 million acres of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as wilderness, the Washington Post first reported today: The announcement, according to individu... Read more »

Libertarians have ‘good reason to be optimistic’ — and have made some history By Jennifer Harper A recent Gallup poll revealed that self-described "independents" are the nation's largest political demographic. Indeed a record-breaking 43 percent of Americans now say they are independents, compared to 30 percent who are Democrats and 26 percent who are Republican. Now comes some promising news for ... Read more »