Recent News

SEWARD, Alaska (AP) — A man serving time for a felony assault conviction has been charged with the attempted murder of another inmate at the Seward prison.

Alaska State Troopers say 57-year-old Rickey Sizemore was arrested Thursday at Spring Creek Correctional Facility.

He is charged with attempting to cut the throat of a man identified by the initials “L.S.”

Prison officials called in troopers after the suspected attack Dec. 22. The second inmate suffered minor injuries.

Troopers say an investigation determined that Sizemore had used a homemade cutting instrument in the attack and had made statements that he intended to kill “L.S.”

Prosecutors in the Kenai District Attorney’s Office determined Wednesday they would file new charges against Sizemore.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A man suspected of crashing a stolen Anchorage vehicle was arrested after leaving a hospital.

Anchorage police say 26-year-old Tyler Wolff was charged Thursday with eight felonies, including robbery and assault.

Police early July 7 investigated a man with a gun outside an east-side fast-food restaurant.

Police say the man ignored officers’ commands and alternately put the gun to his head or in his mouth. The man ran, carjacked a vehicle a block away and drove west on Fifth Avenue toward downtown Anchorage.

After about a mile, the vehicle drove onto the sidewalk, sped through a red light, crashed into another vehicle, sideswiped a cab and ran into a light pole.

Police used a stun gun to subdue the armed man.

Online court records do not list Wolff’s attorney.

KENAI, Alaska (AP) — ConocoPhillips is preparing to fully shut down its Kenai liquefied natural gas plant while it continues to find a buyer for it.

The Alaska Journal of Commerce reports ConocoPhillips spokeswoman Amy Burnett said Wednesday that the company is preparing to put the plant into long-term shutdown mode this fall. Burnett says the closure will focus on preserving the plant for future exports.

The Kenai facility has been idle for nearly two years, with its last export having been in fall 2015.

The company began marketing the plant for sale in January, but a deal has yet to materialize either with a state-owned corporation that showed interest or a private party.

Burnett says discussions with potential buyers are ongoing.

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — A semi-trailer carrying groceries crashed on the Alaska Highway, scattering groceries down a steep embankment along the road.

The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports the crash occurred early Friday near the Northway Junction.

A tribal secretary for the Northway Village Council, Eliza Jimmie, says people from area communities and drivers on the Alaska Highway were still working to salvage the fruits, vegetables and other groceries about 12 hours after the crash.

Jimmie says she had heard the driver of the truck was not badly injured in the crash, although she arrived at the scene hours after the incident and didn’t see the driver herself.

Fred Meyer Oregon spokesman Jeffery Temple says the truck was carrying groceries to the superstore, but was operated by a third-party trucking company.

An Alaska mother is cherishing cellphone photos of her wide-eyed 6-month-old baby in the arms of former President Barack Obama.

Jolene Jackinsky says she was looking for an airline at Anchorage International Airport on Monday when she ended up in a waiting area for private flights where a man she thought looked like Obama was sitting. As she got closer, she realized it really was him.

Jackinsky says he walked up to her and asked, “Who is this pretty girl?” She says she chatted with him about how fast children grow while he carried baby Giselle.

Obama told Jackinsky he was going home from a vacation.

Jackinsky says when Giselle’s father approached, Obama joked “I’m taking your baby.”

The encounter lasted about five minutes. But Jackinsky says she’ll always remember the moment.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A walrus calf found last month outside Nome, Alaska, is being nursed to health with the help of 24-hour massage therapy.

A spokeswoman for the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward says the center’s recuperation plan for the walrus includes touching, massaging and cuddling.

Jennifer Gibbins says walrus spend two years with their mothers. She says calves need constant contact and part of the caregiving at the center is providing tactile interaction.

The male calf weighed 120 pounds (54 kilograms) when it arrived. Gibbins says the animal was severely dehydrated and lethargic.

It’s now feeding from a bottle seven times per day and weighs 143 pounds (65 kilograms).

Gibbins says the calf can’t be taught to fend for itself and will not be released into the wild.