Tripp J Crouse, KTOO

Former FBI Director James Comey will testify Thursday before the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, speaking publicly for the first time since he was fired by President Donald Trump nearly a month ago.

Live video will be available beginning at 6 a.m. Alaska time Thursday.

Live special coverage from NPR begins at 6 a.m. Alaska time. You can listen to coverage here and on KTOO over the air.

The Senate committee is looking into the circumstances around Comey’s dismissal and how they relate to the FBI investigation of Russian interference in the U.S. election.

The White House has given conflicting messages about the reasons for Comey’s firing.

Sources close to Comey say the president told Comey to shut down the Russia investigation. That’s a charge that the White House denies.

A special counsel has since been tapped by the Justice Department to head the probe.

Online, NPR journalists covering national security and politics are annotating Comey’s opening remarks, which the Senate Intelligence Committee released in advance on Wednesday.

You can follow NPR’s Two-Way live blog here, which will include streaming video of the proceedings, with highlights, context and analysis from NPR reporters and correspondents.

 

Gov. Bill Walker will discuss his proposed fiscal plan compromise package at 1:30 p.m. today at a news conference in the Governor’s Cabinet Room on the third floor of the Capitol Building.

Office of Management and Budget director Pat Pitney and Department of Revenue Commissioner Randy Hoffbeck will also be there.

Come back to this post at 1:30 p.m. for a live stream of Gavel Alaska coverage. Or watch on 360 North television, which is available in Juneau over the air on channel 3.3, or on cable and satellite.

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A car driven by a 26-year-old woman, who police say was intoxicated at more than twice the legal limit to drive, crashed early Saturday morning.

Police identified the woman as Fuapauna Sua of Juneau and the car as a white 2014 Ford Fusion. According to a Juneau Police Department news release,  the driver was outbound when the vehicle went off the roadway near 1201 Egan Drive. The car hit a light pole and speed limit sign, the release said.

Sua was arrested for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, a class A misdemeanor.  Juneau police Sgt. Chris Gifford said that a preliminary police report did not indicate whether alcohol or some other substance was involved.

Gifford said tire marks were reported visible for about 500 feet. He said road conditions appeared dry, based off of pictures taken at the scene. The report did not indicate how fast the vehicle was traveling.

Police and Capitol City Fire/Rescue responded to the crash. Police said Sua was the only person in the vehicle.

Sua did not appear injured at the scene, according to police, but was transported to Bartlett Regional Medical Center for further evaluation.

“The first priority is the person’s well being. We want to make sure that they’re healthy and that any medical injuries or anything sustained as a result of that are seen to first,” Gifford said. “Second after that, then we address the issue of DWI. It’s standard. It’s a good decision to take someone to the hospital first before processing them.”

The vehicle sustained an estimated $10,000 in damages, according to the news release. The hood, bumper and grill were damaged in the incident. Gifford said the “passenger side was pretty damaged.” The vehicle was impounded.

Sua later provided a breath sample. Her breath-alcohol concentration was 0.163 percent, according to the release. The legal limit in Alaska is 0.08 percent.

Correction: A previous version of this story reported that the crash occured near Twin Lakes. The crash happened near 1201 Egan Drive. The story has been corrected to reflect the change.

A former Taku Harley-Davidson employee armed with a knife allegedly robbed the store Tuesday, according to a Juneau Police Department news release.

An undisclosed amount of cash was stolen and has not been recovered.

Eric Rivera, 23, of Juneau was arrested on one count of robbery and and one count of assault in the incident at 263 Marine Way in downtown Juneau. Both counts are felony charges.

According to the news release, an employee called 911 to report the robbery about 7:23 p.m, and the thief stole the store’s bank deposit bag and left on foot.

Police later saw Rivera on Front Street about 7:51 p.m., where he was detained and subsequently arrested, the release said.

Rivera is being held without bail in Lemon Creek Correctional Center. An arraignment hearing is scheduled at 1:15 p.m. Wednesday.

Juneau police are investigating the death of a California man found near the tramway station on Mount Roberts.

The 57-year-old was unresponsive to CPR at 2:15 p.m. Tuesday when Capital City Fire/Rescue arrived on the scene on the trail system behind the station, according to a Juneau Police Department news release.

He was declared dead at the scene. Family was present.

His body was sent to Anchorage for an autopsy.

Updated | 5:23 p.m. Thursday

Miss Alaska USA Alyssa London arrived in Juneau on Thursday afternoon, making a stop at Sandy Beach in a series of visits to Juneau area schools.

— Tripp J Crouse, KTOO

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Original story | 10:19 a.m. Thursday

Miss Alaska USA encourages pride in heritage, education in Ketchikan visit

Miss Alaska USA Alyssa London was in Ketchikan this week, visiting Fawn Mountain Elementary School on Wednesday.

Miss Alaska USA Alyssa London dropped by a handful of classrooms at Fawn Mountain Elementary School, wearing a formline-design robe trimmed with fur along with her dress, high heels and sparkling crown.

London is the first Tlingit Miss Alaska USA, and she brought a message of pride to the kids at Fawn Mountain, which has a large population of Alaska Native students.

“What I did at Miss USA was wear my clan crest, killer whale, on my pageant gown, and some people told me not to do it, but I decided to do it anyways,” she said. “I think people liked it and I ended up making top 10.”

“I think that when you are proud of who you are, where you come from, people applaud that because it shows confidence,” she said, telling students in Teresa Varnell’s classroom that she wanted to show her pride throughout the pageant.

One young boy in the class had a question for London.

“Is there a Mr. USA?” he said.

“I don’t think so,” London replied. “That’s not fair. Maybe you should start one.”

London talked again about pride in her Native heritage speaking a little later in the school gym to an assembly of Fawn Mountain students. She also talked about the value of education.

“Every day you’re going to school you’re investing in your future,” she said. “Even if you don’t know what your
future is going to be when you graduate high school or graduate college, that’s OK. You’re learning about yourself and your passions and you’re learning about having a work ethic and the importance of working hard, and that’s going to open doors for you down the line.”

London took questions from the audience, and several students asked about her crown.

One wanted to know whether she was a queen.

“I’m a representative of Alaska. They gave me this crown, so I can be queen of Alaska,” she said, laughing.

Another student wanted to know whether London’s feet hurt in her high heels. She said she practiced walking in high heels for the pageant, and now it’s one of her special skills.

“People might think it’s easy to walk on that stage, but it’s not. It’s kinda slippery,” she said. “I actually did runway training in New York. I’ve done 10 hours of runway training in 5-inch heels, so I can stay in these babies a long time.”

London placed in the top 10 during the Miss USA competition, which took place May 14 in Las Vegas. She was the first Miss Alaska USA to place in the top 10 in about three decades.

— Leila Kheiry, KRBD-Ketchikan