Alaska and Hawaii

"Hundreds of people are in the process of suing the government over illness and disruption to their lives they attribute to water contamination from Navy fuel spills in Hawaii last year, according their attorney."

"The remnants of Typhoon Merbok have been battering Alaska’s western coast since late Friday, bringing flooding powerful enough to uproot buildings and forcing residents to seek shelter."

"Mary Peltola’s win yesterday in a special election for an Alaska House seat sent shock waves through the political universe. And while the Democrat beat two Republicans, including former Gov. Sarah Palin, Peltola is a moderate and a firm backer of the state’s oil and natural gas industry."

"Democrat Mary Peltola is the apparent winner of Alaska’s special U.S. House race and is set to become the first Alaska Native in Congress, after votes were tabulated Wednesday in the state’s first ranked choice election."

"The theories are many. The crabs moved into Russian waters. They are dead because predators got them. They are dead because they ate each other. The crabs scuttled off the continental shelf and scientists just didn’t see them. Alien abduction."

"The peak of Mauna Kea, a shield volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii, is one of the world's most remote places." "The mountain's flat shape, gentle winds, and low humidity make it perfect for watching the stars."

"Alaska is burning this year in ways rarely or ever seen, from the largest wildfire in a typically mainly fireproof southwest region to a pair of blazes that ripped through forests and produced smoke that blew hundreds of miles to the the Bering Sea community of Nome, where the normally crystal clear air was pushed into the extremely unhealthy category."

"Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island was given new land on Tuesday in a deal that will protect and manage a pristine white sand beach and ocean bay area that is home to endangered and endemic species and to rare, culturally significant Native Hawaiian artifacts."