Alaska and Hawaii

"One of President-elect Donald J. Trump’s biggest “drill, baby, drill” initiatives suffered a significant setback on Wednesday as the Interior Department announced that a lease sale in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge ended without a single bidder."

"U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said on Sunday he will rename Denali, Alaska natives' name for North America's tallest mountain, after William McKinley, the 25th U.S. president who was assassinated in 1901."

"The Biden administration’s decision to include restrictions in the auction of oil drilling rights in part of Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is legally vulnerable as the state looks to the next administration to allow more oil development."

"The Bureau of Land Management is required to auction off opportunities to drill in the Alaska wildlife refuge by the end of this year under 2017’s Tax Cuts and Job Act."

"About 50 axis deer crowded around the fence line separating Maui Nui Botanical Gardens and Keopuolani Regional Park, startling the gardens staff on a recent Thursday afternoon. The threat posed by the invasive deer was alarming because the gardens serve as a seed bank and are home to some of Hawaii’s rarest endemic and native plants."

"The Biden administration on Wednesday endorsed a land exchange that would allow a controversial gravel road to be built through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge in Southwest Alaska."

"The Biden administration moved Wednesday to narrow the scope of an oil-and-gas lease sale in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge that was mandated under President Donald Trump."

"Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge ranks as one of the wildest places on Earth. In the winter, it’s a haven for some of the last polar bears that traverse land and sea. In the summer, millions of birds descend to build their nests and gather fuel for their journey south."

"When Hurricane Douglas came barreling toward Oahu in 2020, David Sischo quickly packed up and drove to higher ground. But he wasn’t evacuating his family. He was evacuating snails."

"128 “Grazer” made Fat Bear Week history Tuesday night by becoming the first competitor to win the tournament while caring for a cub. Her victory over 32 “Chunk” also felt deeply personal for legions of her online fans; earlier this summer, Grazer’s enormous rival attacked the second of her offspring, who later died of the injuries."