Alaska

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — An Alaska man has received the U.S. Coast Guard’s second-highest civilian honor for saving a girl from drowning when they were both children more than 20 years ago, a report said.

George Lambert received a silver lifesaving medal in Anchorage Saturday for rescuing Pamela Smith, The Anchorage Daily News reported Saturday.

The award was presented by Coast Guard Rear Admiral Matthew Bell Jr., who told the story of the rescue during a ceremony attended by Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy.

SAN FRANCISCO, May 13 (Xinhua): Five people from a cruise ship line were killed and one was missing Monday after two floatplanes collided in mid-air near Ketchikan, southeast Alaska, a local TV outlet reported.

The victims were among a group of 16 people from two cruise ships from Princess Cruises line, who were aboard two seaplanes for flight-seeing in Alaska, the cruise ship company confirmed.

NAPAKIAK, Alaska (AP) — An early morning fire at an Alaska jail killed two inmates and seriously injured a guard who was trying to release them, officials said.

Authorities did not immediately identify the victims of the fire Sunday in the village of Napakiak in southwest Alaska, the Anchorage Daily News reported Sunday.

Alaska State Troopers received a report around 1:30 a.m. that the jailhouse was “engulfed in flames” and that two prisoners inside their cells “were not able to get free” of their cells.

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Nearly half of the 11,466 federal employees in Alaska have been furloughed or working without pay because of a partial government shutdown in Washington, local news outlet said Sunday.

About 5,624 people who are in unappropriated status are waiting for President Trump to strike a deal with Congress on any solution that facilitates re-opening of the federal government, so that they can get paid in time, the Must Read Alaska reported.

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — It’s a sign that every vote does count.

A single mystery ballot found on a precinct table on Election Day but not counted then could decide a tied Alaska state House race and thwart Republican efforts to control the chamber and all of state government.

The ballot arrived in Juneau last Friday in a secrecy sleeve in a bin with other ballot materials. Officials were investigating its origins and handling before deciding whether to tally it.