Captain Rick Shelford, star of the popular Discovery Channel reality series “Deadliest Catch,” revealed on Monday that his 25-year-old deckhand, Todd Meadows, died in a fishing accident.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Coast Guard confirmed Meadows&#8217; death in statement on Tuesday, saying that Meadows fell overboard about 170 miles north of the Dutch Harbor, off Alaska&#8217;s Aleutian Islands.
&#8220;He was recovered unresponsive by the crew approximately ten minutes later,&#8221; the spokesperson said, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/deckhand-deadliest-catch-boat-dies-fishing-alaskan-waters-rcna261372">per</a> NBC News. &#8220;First aid and attempts to resuscitate were unsuccessful, and the crew transported the deceased to Dutch Harbor.&#8221;
“February 25, 2026 was the most tragic day in the history of the Aleutian Lady on the Bering Sea,” Shelford said in a Facebook <a href="https://www.facebook.com/captainrick.shelford/posts/898155459760463">post</a>, which included photos of Meadows. “We lost our brother, Todd Meadows. Todd was the newest member of our crew, he quickly became family. His love for fishing and his strong work ethic earned everyone’s respect right away. His smile was contagious, and the sound of his laughter coming up the wheelhouse stairs or over the deck hailer is something we will carry with us always.”
“Deadliest Catch” premiered in 2005 and remains a popular series for the network. It follows crab fishermen working in the Bering Sea during the Alaskan king crab and snow crab fishing seasons, documenting the dangers of the job along the way. 
Alaskan crab fishing is considered to be one of the most dangerous jobs in the world.
“Todd’s love for his children, his family, and his life was evident in everything he did. He worked hard, loved deeply, and brought joy to those around him,” the post went on. “Right now, our hearts are broken in a way that words can’t fully express. We ask that you lift Todd’s children and family in prayer and keep them in your thoughts as they face the days ahead without him. Todd will forever be part of this boat, this crew, and this brotherhood. Though we lost him far too soon, his legacy will live on through his children and in every memory we carry of him. Rest easy brother, till we meet again.”
A GoFundMe campaign was set up for Meadows’ family. The description mentioned that the deckhand was fishing at the time of his death. “We are heartbroken to share the sudden passing of Todd Morgan Meadows, a beloved 25-year-old father, son, brother and friend, who left us far too soon while doing what he loved — crabbing out on Alaskan waters,” the GoFundMe page read.
“We are deeply saddened by the tragic passing of Todd Meadows,&#8221; a <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/deckhand-deadliest-catch-boat-dies-fishing-alaskan-waters-rcna261372">statement</a> from Discovery said, per NBC. &#8220;This is a devastating loss, and our hearts are with his loved ones, his crewmates, and the entire fishing community during this incredibly difficult time.”

Aleutian Lady

‘Deadliest Catch’ Deckhand Dies On Alaskan Fishing Boat

Alaska

Death

Entertainment

Reality TV

Television

If Alaska Democrat Senate candidate Mary Peltola had her way, states would not be allowed to shield kids from transgender procedures like cross-sex hormones and double mastectomies.
Peltola, who briefly held Alaska’s lone House seat, <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-resolution/561/cosponsors">signed</a> onto a resolution that condemned states that shield kids from transgender procedures. The Senate hopeful has consistently voted in line with Democrat orthodoxy on transgender issues throughout her time in the House. 
In July 2024, Peltola co-sponsored a House resolution that condemned state actions to protect unborn life and prohibit doctors from performing transgender medical procedures on kids. The resolution decried the “criminalization of the full range of sexual and reproductive health care such as abortion,” and so-called “gender-affirming care.” 
The resolution said that “no person” should be punished for “seeking or obtaining gender-affirming care.”
Specifically, the resolution targeted state legislation &#8220;designed to severely limit access to necessary gender-affirming care, especially for young people, which is against the recommendations of major medical organizations&#8221; and &#8220;designed to criminalize and penalize providing gender-affirming care to young people, providers of gender-affirming care for young people, and the parents of those young people for enabling access to this essential care.”
Over two dozen states have passed legislation protecting kids from transgender procedures.
Like many Democrats running for office in 2026, Peltola will have to address her support for transgender ideology. 
The election of President Donald Trump in 2024 showed that large swaths of Americans do not want kids to undergo transgender procedures or allow boys to compete as girls on sports teams. 
The far-left Human Rights Campaign is <a href="https://hrc-prod-requests.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/files/documents/OneYearOUT-rev6.pdf">urging</a> Democratic candidates to address attacks against radical transgender ideology directly and stress “fairness” and “safety” while not deviating from pushing transgender ideology. Potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidates have also been <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/01/18/democrats-2028-struggle-trans-rights">shying</a> away from the issue, including failed 2024 presidential candidate Kamala Harris. 
Earlier this month, Peltola <a href="https://thealaskastory.com/dc-influencer-class-fundraisers-clash-with-peltolas-anti-insider-message/">reportedly</a> attended a fundraiser with major Democrat donor David Steinglass, a <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-steinglass-a7525a1b/">self-described</a> “donor activist for transgender rights.” 
While she has downplayed questions on whether men should be allowed to compete in women’s sports, Peltola <a href="https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2023192">voted</a> against proposed <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/734">legislation</a> that would require schools receiving federal funding to not allow gender-confused boys onto girls’ sports teams. 
While campaigning for the House, Peltola was evasive on the issue, saying that she needed to “better acquaint myself with this issue, which I believe is more complicated than some make it out to be.”
“My starting point is that sports should be fair for all students, and we must protect the rights of all students – especially those that are already subject to significant discrimination,” she <a href="https://www.adn.com/politics/2022/08/06/candidate-qa-us-house-mary-peltola/">said</a>. “I look forward to learning more, and focusing on the many other pressing challenges the U.S. Congress is facing.”
Peltola also <a href="https://alaskabeacon.com/briefs/qa-with-2022-alaska-u-s-house-candidate-mary-peltola/">backed</a> the so-called “Equality Act,” which would embed protections for perceived “gender-identity” into federal civil rights laws and would give access for transgender-identifying men to women’s bathrooms. 
“The Equality Act must be passed to prevent unfair and unlawful discrimination,” she said. “I will work hard to see that through, with no exceptions, so that everyone in Alaska can live and love without fear.”
In 2023, Peltola <a href="https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2023161">voted</a> against a Republican-backed proposal that would have prohibited schools from socially “transitioning” their kids without their knowledge or consent. 
Peltola did not respond to questions from The Daily Wire on her positions on transgender issues. She is hoping to unseat incumbent Republican Senator Dan Sullivan.

MixCollage-19-Feb-2026-02-34-PM-5459

Dem Senate Candidate’s Record On Child Trans Procedures Comes Into Focus

2026 Midterms

dan sullivan

mary peltola

Senate

Transgender

The Department of War has awarded $45 billion in contracts to &#8220;Alaskan Native&#8221; companies in the last half-decade, fueled by minority-contracting laws. But Alaska Natives are hard to come by at the companies. Instead, the work most commonly happened in Virginia, with racial preference laws putting white, Democrat Beltway insiders in multi-million-dollar homes, while natives live in poverty.
No &#8220;Alaskan native&#8221; company got more contracts than ASRC Federal, which lists zero native executives. The company is named after, and is owned by, the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, a for-profit umbrella company representing 14,000 Inupiaq natives in a remote region of Alaska known as the North Slope. The company is <a href="https://www.forbes.com/lists/top-private-companies/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ranked</a> the 111th-largest private company in America, with $5.7 billion in revenue. It owns five million acres of land, including oil reserves whose sale leads to dividend payments to the natives.
Yet the most valuable resource might come from Washington, which in 1971 passed a law saying companies can get contracts without having to go through the competitive bidding process if they are at least 51% owned by Alaskan Natives. Other minorities can get no-bid contracts for nine years while they own a small business, but Alaskan firms retain the disadvantaged status even when they have billions of dollars in revenue.
That has led to business executives donning the skins of native people to get high-tech contracts, under the curious pretext that the natives dwelling in huts are learning to do advanced engineering. The scale of the riches that unleashes is mind-boggling.
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1045703" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/asrc-leadership.jpg" alt="" width="1854" height="1698" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/asrc-leadership.jpg 1854w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/asrc-leadership-300x275.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/asrc-leadership-629x576.jpg 629w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/asrc-leadership-768x703.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/asrc-leadership-1536x1407.jpg 1536w" sizes=" (max-width: 1854px) 100vw, 1854px" /></div>
Last month alone, ASRC Federal announced that it was awarded a Defense Logistics Agency contract worth up to <a href="https://www.asrcfederal.com/defense-logistics-agency-awards-asrc-federal-up-to-2-3-billion-to-manage-chemical-and-oil-supply-chain/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$2.3 billion</a>, as well as a &#8220;Missile Defense Agency Scalable Homeland Innovative Enterprise Layered Defense (SHIELD) indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract with a ceiling of <a href="https://www.asrcfederal.com/asrc-federal-secures-position-on-missile-defense-agency-shield-contract-vehicle/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$151</a> [billion].&#8221;
The Department of War has awarded nearly one million separate contracts, totaling $45 billion, to &#8220;Alaskan Native&#8221; companies since fiscal year 2021, according to <a href="https://www.usaspending.gov/search?hash=c138c3b3102e4ead5777696955f0e871" target="_blank" rel="noopener">USASpending.gov</a>. The most common &#8220;place of performance,&#8221; however, was Virginia. Less than 12% was spent in Alaska.
No company brought in more than ASRC Federal, which is made up of numerous subsidiary companies that exist to get federal contracts. ASRC Federal Facilities Logistics LLC billed taxpayers $2 billion, ASRC Communications Ltd. charged half a billion, ASRC Federal Field Services LLC earned $390 million, and ASRC Federal System Solutions LLC took $319 million.
ASRC Federal&#8217;s CEO is <a href="https://www.asrcfederal.com/about-us/#leadership" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jennifer Felix</a>, who lives in a $4.3 million, 14,000-square-foot home in Loudoun County, Virginia. The mansion sits on four acres and includes a guest home and private movie theater. Felix has showered liberal politicians with tens of thousands of dollars in donations since 2022, donating to groups like &#8220;Pro-Choice Majority 2024,&#8221; &#8220;Elect Dems Now,&#8221; and the campaigns of Virginia senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner.
Meanwhile, there is no sign that residents of the North Slope even have a public movie theater. The only theater in town is a now-closed, rusted hut, research from the American Accountability Foundation, a government watchdog group, found.
<div id="attachment_1045705" style="width: 1842px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1045705" class="size-full wp-image-1045705" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/felix-house.jpg" alt="" width="1832" height="1044" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/felix-house.jpg 1832w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/felix-house-300x171.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/felix-house-1011x576.jpg 1011w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/felix-house-768x438.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/felix-house-1536x875.jpg 1536w" sizes=" (max-width: 1832px) 100vw, 1832px" />Home of white &#8220;Alaskan Native&#8221; contractor CEO, replete with private movie theater</div>
<div id="attachment_1045707" style="width: 1918px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1045707" class="size-full wp-image-1045707" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/alaskan-theater.jpg" alt="" width="1908" height="1050" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/alaskan-theater.jpg 1908w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/alaskan-theater-300x165.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/alaskan-theater-1024x564.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/alaskan-theater-768x423.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/alaskan-theater-1536x845.jpg 1536w" sizes=" (max-width: 1908px) 100vw, 1908px" />Shuttered theater used by actual Alaskan Natives</div>
&#8220;Felix has a long history of working with government contractors, previously being employed with companies like General Dynamics, Sotera Defense Solutions, and Deloitte. She is, put simply, a typical Beltway bandit defense contractor,&#8221; the American Accountability Foundation wrote in a report provided to The Daily Wire.
Conservatives say no-bid minority contracting laws, known as 8(a), are wasteful and unfair. But the absence of actual Alaskan Natives at companies bearing their names raises questions about whether the program has even succeeded in its liberal-minded goal of lifting minorities out of poverty by training them in business.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth raised a similar question last month when he said that other minority-owned firms often subcontract the work to white-owned firms, while keeping a large cut for playing middleman. “In the Pentagon, $100 million sole-source contracts go out the door to these 8(a) firms almost <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/why-pete-hegseth-is-right-to-take-a-sledgehammer-to-the-8a-scam" target="_blank" rel="noopener">every day</a> without any competition or opportunity for anyone else to bid,” he said.
Joseph Winthrop, ASRC Federal&#8217;s chief financial officer, lives in a $2 million Loudoun County home replete with a wine cellar. Executive Scott Altman lives in a Georgetown townhouse and is paid $1.1 million a year, according to a recent contract disclosure.
Clifford Greenblatt lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland, the historic domain of the Beltway elite, in a <a href="https://censusreporter.org/profiles/15000US240317054002-bg-2-tract-7054-montgomery-md/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">neighborhood</a> that is 0% black or native and has a $200,000 median per capita income. Chief Strategy Officer Ann Stevens lives on the banks of the Potomac River in Great Falls, Virginia.
It&#8217;s a vastly different life than the company&#8217;s Inupiat shareholders. &#8220;The supposed beneficiaries of the corporation – the Inupiat – live in conditions that would make most Americans cringe,&#8221; the American Accountability Foundation wrote. Alaskan Natives make up nearly all the people on welfare in the North Slope, with more than 17% collecting food stamps.
A spokeswoman for ASRC Federal, Aubrel Mellos, did not respond to questions including how many of the company&#8217;s employees are Alaskan Native, or what dividends from federal contract dollars have been paid out to native people. But she wrote in an email:
&#8220;Every ASRC subsidiary operates at the direction of ASRC&#8217;s 100% Iñupiaq Board of Directors for the benefit of its 14,000+ Iñupiaq shareholders. ASRC&#8217;s Board Members are directly selected by its Indigenous shareholders through annual elections. ASRC Federal&#8217;s operations, business priorities, and hiring are done to the benefit of ASRC&#8217;s Iñupiaq shareholders, who receive dividends based on the success of the corporation – as was the will of Congress and the federal government when the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA) established ASRC and the 11 other regional Alaska Native corporations.&#8221;
&#8220;ASRC Federal directly contributes to the self-determination of the North Slope Iñupiat through dividend payments and economic opportunity, contributing to a <a href="https://globalhealth.washington.edu/news/2017/05/09/alaska-dispatch-news-alaska-sees-most-dramatic-increases-life-expectancy-nation-new" target="_blank" rel="noopener">remarkable increase</a> in lifespan on Alaska&#8217;s North Slope,” she continued.
<div id="attachment_1045709" style="width: 1778px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1045709" class="size-full wp-image-1045709" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/winthrop-wine-cellar.jpg" alt="" width="1768" height="1258" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/winthrop-wine-cellar.jpg 1768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/winthrop-wine-cellar-300x213.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/winthrop-wine-cellar-810x576.jpg 810w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/winthrop-wine-cellar-768x546.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/winthrop-wine-cellar-1536x1093.jpg 1536w" sizes=" (max-width: 1768px) 100vw, 1768px" />Joseph Winthrop&#8217;s wine cellar</div>
<div id="attachment_1045713" style="width: 1492px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1045713" class="size-full wp-image-1045713" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/alaskan-village.jpg" alt="" width="1482" height="1094" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/alaskan-village.jpg 1482w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/alaskan-village-300x221.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/alaskan-village-780x576.jpg 780w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/alaskan-village-768x567.jpg 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 1482px) 100vw, 1482px" />The largest Inupiat city</div>
For decades, politicians in both parties have said that Alaskan contracting was not advancing the goals that justified the program. That&#8217;s what then-Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) said in 2010. In <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/national/2010/09/30/bethesda-consultant-made-millions-with-alaska-firm/e9187e20-cc34-11df-8eee-2e1a26a3708e/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">one case</a> from that time period, a Bethesda, Maryland, man was paid $15 million to run an Alaskan government contractor for three years, while its Alaskan Native owners received a total of $682,000 in dividends in 2009, or $305 each. The company won a contract to make military uniforms, which it manufactured in Puerto Rico instead of Alaska.
But efforts at reform have been blocked by Alaska Republican senators such as the now-deceased Ted Stevens, who for years chaired the powerful Appropriations Committee. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) is a <a href="https://punchbowl.news/article/defense/murkowski-gavel/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">contender to chair</a> either the Senate Appropriations Committee or its defense subcommittee next Congress.
Now, if the Alaskan program meets its end, it&#8217;s likely to be through the abolition of the broader minority-contracting program. The Trump administration has made moves to rein in the DEI scheme after a black man, Walter Barnes, pleaded guilty to getting $500 million in USAID contracts by paying a USAID official <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/usaid-official-three-contractors-plead-guilty-to-half-billion-dollar-bribery-scheme" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$1 million in bribes</a>. The scheme worked because 8(a) empowers a government official to steer contracts to specific companies.
The increased scrutiny has placed Alaska&#8217;s senators, both Republicans, in the curious position of defending the DEI program as a whole.
Sen. Joni Ernst, chair of the Small Business Committee, which oversees the 8(a) program, asked agencies to pause sole-source contracts in order to get a handle on fraud. But Murkowski and Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/alaska-republicans-secretly-working-to-protect-fraud-plagued-dei-program" target="_blank" rel="noopener">secretly urged</a> the agencies to ignore that request, according to a letter previously obtained by The Daily Wire.
The letter highlighted that Pentagon officials enjoy taking advantage of the Alaskan law because although the competitive bidding process is designed to get the most qualified company and the best price, it is also a bureaucratic slog.
&#8220;We consistently hear from top Pentagon officials that the 8(a) Program provides flexibility and timeliness in procuring weapons systems that strengthen our country,&#8221; they wrote. &#8220;The program reduces administrative burden, shortens acquisition timelines, and avoids the delays and litigation risks that often accompany large-scale procurements.&#8221;
Murkowski and Sullivan did not respond when The Daily Wire asked for statistics about how many Alaskan Natives actually work at firms like Bowhead, another multibillion dollar defense contractor whose leadership consists virtually entirely of white males.
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1026861" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/bowhead-scaled.jpg" alt="" width="2560" height="1535" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/bowhead-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/bowhead-300x180.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/bowhead-961x576.jpg 961w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/bowhead-768x460.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/bowhead-1536x921.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/bowhead-2048x1228.jpg 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" /></div>
In the 1980s, Congress passed laws allowing Native Americans to join Alaskan Natives as so-called &#8220;super 8(a)&#8217;s,&#8221; exempt from having to show that they are actually small, disadvantaged companies. Undercover journalist James O&#8217;Keefe caught an executive from one such firm, ATI Government Solutions, boasting that it received a $100 million contract and kept two-thirds while paying a big company, like Accenture, to do the actual work.
None of ATI&#8217;s executives was native, either. Members of the Susanville Indian Rancheria tribe, which owns part of ATI Government Solutions, were interviewed by O&#8217;Keefe&#8217;s outlet. &#8220;Here you have this millionaire making money off of us, and we&#8217;re here begging for help. All of the things that were created for us, we <a href="https://x.com/JamesOKeefeIII/status/1988770902243176767" target="_blank" rel="noopener">don&#8217;t benefit</a> from,&#8221; one tribe member said.
The American Accountability Foundation called for ending the 8(a) program, saying &#8220;it is currently not benefiting minority populations and is enriching D.C. elites.&#8221;

ASRC

How A Top Pentagon Contractor Enriches DC Insiders Using Law Intended To Help Eskimos

Department of Defense

Minority Contracting

Two Senate Republicans are standing in the way of efforts to eliminate a major DEI program that gives no-bid federal contracts to &#8220;socially disadvantaged&#8221; groups, a letter obtained by The Daily Wire shows.
Alaska Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan wrote to agencies saying that a race-based program that removes competition for federal contracts for racial minorities &#8220;has reflected conservative, market-based principles by empowering small businesses to compete, grow, and succeed.&#8221; They said a Republican request that agencies review past contracts for &#8220;potential fraud&#8221; was &#8220;premature&#8221; and &#8220;unsupported by established facts.&#8221;
The Trump administration&#8217;s Small Business Administration moved to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/feds-crack-down-on-minority-contracting-schemes-d-c-s-worst-kept-secret" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rein in</a> the federal minority contracting program, known as 8(a), after a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/usaid-official-three-contractors-plead-guilty-to-half-billion-dollar-bribery-scheme" target="_blank" rel="noopener">black businessman bribed</a> a USAID official for half a billion dollars in contracts — a bribe the official could make good on only because contracts to minorities can be handed out at will instead of based on a showing of best value.
In October, James O&#8217;Keefe&#8217;s <a href="https://x.com/JamesOKeefeIII/status/1981042870460252398" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Citizen Journalism Foundation</a> captured officials from a white-led, but ostensibly Native American contractor, bragging about how they got a $100 million contract using minority preference and simply found someone else to do the actual work for a small portion of that. Follow-up reporting featured members of the Native American tribe bemoaning that outsiders were abusing the tribe&#8217;s name to <a href="https://x.com/jamesokeefeiii/status/1988770902243176767?s=42" target="_blank" rel="noopener">enrich</a> themselves, while tribe members lived in poverty.
Alaska Natives get even more preferential treatment than black, Hispanic, and Asian Americans, allowing them to run multibillion-dollar defense contractor companies while getting benefits initially designed for small, disadvantaged firms.
In December, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), chair of the Senate Small Business Committee, which has jurisdiction over the program, wrote to agencies <a href="https://www.ernst.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/12082025sba8aprogramfinalletters.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asking them</a> to &#8220;immediately pause all 8(a) sole-source contracting&#8221; and &#8220;examine all 8(a) set-aside contracts awarded by your agency since FY 20 for any violation of laws and regulations,&#8221; noting that the Biden administration raised the goal for minority contracts to 15%.
For years, inquiries have flagged fraud and abuse in such arrangements, but Alaska Republicans have used their disproportionate power in the Senate to make the topic off-limits. The now-deceased Ted Stevens was an Alaska Republican who chaired the Senate&#8217;s Appropriations Committee for years, and Murkowski now sits on the committee.
Before the DEI craze captured Democrats, it wasn&#8217;t partisan to point out waste and abuse. In 2010, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) found abuse similar to what was highlighted by O&#8217;Keefe. But Murkowski &#8220;immediately sprung into action, lodging objections&#8221; to McCaskill&#8217;s effort to reform the program. McCaskill <a href="https://www.murkowski.senate.gov/press/article/mccaskill-retreats-attack-on-tribal-contracting" target="_blank" rel="noopener">folded</a>, but said, “Reform in this area is going to happen. It’s not a matter of if, but a matter of when.&#8221;
In the time since, little has changed. In 2011, The Washington Post reported that a D.C. lawyer named Paralee White had used the Alaska program to land more than <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/dc-insiders-can-reap-fortunes-from-federal-programs-for-small-businesses/2011/02/09/AB1NRJS_story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$500 million</a> in military contracts and pay her family members lavish salaries. The Post noted, &#8220;Significantly for White, the subsidiaries set up by the corporations to receive contracts did not have to operate in Alaska or even be run by natives. They just had to be 51 percent owned by Alaska Natives, and they could hire nonnative subcontractors to do much of the work.&#8221;
In <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/national/2010/09/30/bethesda-consultant-made-millions-with-alaska-firm/e9187e20-cc34-11df-8eee-2e1a26a3708e/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">another case</a>, a Bethesda, Maryland, man was paid $15 million to run an Alaskan government contractor for three years, while Alaska Natives received a total of $682,000 in dividends in 2009, or $305 each. The company won a contract to make military uniforms, which it manufactured in Puerto Rico instead of Alaska.
Sullivan and Murkowski did not publicize their letters to federal agencies, which goes against Republican orthodoxy when it comes to DEI and fraud and waste. A spokesman for Murkowski, Joseph Plesha, did not respond when The Daily Wire asked about the letter.
The inquiry asked: &#8220;Do you think the SBA and agencies have done a sufficient job rooting out abuse? If not, what are some examples that you&#8217;ve uncovered through your oversight? Do you support 8(a) for all minorities or only Alaskan natives?&#8221;
It also asked whether the type of Alaska Native Corporation that Murkowski holds up as a success includes Bowhead, virtually all of whose <a href="https://www.bowhead.com/executive-team/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">executives are white men</a>. Bowhead is technically an arm of an Alaskan tribe, but it is headquartered in the D.C. suburbs, and its family of high-tech defense contractors looks and operates like Northrop Grumman or Lockheed Martin — but without having to compete with them on price.
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1026861" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/bowhead-scaled.jpg" alt="" width="2560" height="1535" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/bowhead-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/bowhead-300x180.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/bowhead-961x576.jpg 961w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/bowhead-768x460.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/bowhead-1536x921.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/bowhead-2048x1228.jpg 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" /></div>
A spokeswoman for Sen. Sullivan, Amanda Coyne, also did not respond to a Daily Wire inquiry requesting data showing that such firms were actually staffed by Alaska Natives.
The letter said the 8(a) program &#8220;reduces administrative burden, shortens acquisition timelines, and avoids the delays and litigation risks that often accompany large-scale procurements. Further, as two Senators who care about the readiness of our military, we consistently hear from top Pentagon officials that the 8(a) Program provides flexibility and timeliness in procuring weapons systems that strengthen our country.&#8221;
The reason that some government officials like using 8(a) contracting is that they do not have to bother with competing for the work, a process designed to get the highest quality and lowest cost. Instead, they can simply choose who they want to give it to. At times, that includes the implicit understanding that the supposedly disadvantaged firm will subcontract much of the work to a traditional firm.
The 8(a) program is also facing court challenges, particularly after recent Supreme Court decisions made it likely that elements of it are unconstitutional. Multiple injunctions have been put in place by judges, and a lawsuit by lawyers from the Center for Individual Rights and the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty has recently been filed on behalf of white people who were left out in the cold.
Dan Lennington, the director of the Wisconsin group&#8217;s Equality Under the Law Project, told The Daily Wire, &#8220;There is simply no question that the 8(a) program has been the source of significant waste, fraud, and abuse. The program was designed for &#8216;economically disadvantaged&#8217; small business owners, yet our clients have reported that these limits are not enforced and easily evaded, meaning that high net-worth individuals often scoop up preferences and sole-source contracts.&#8221;
&#8220;Moreover, the Section 8(a) program has been tainted with unconstitutional racial preferences, including racial preferences for &#8216;Alaska Natives,&#8217; which Senators Murkowski and Sullivan undoubtedly support. Federal law defines this category based on &#8216;blood,&#8217; &#8216;bloodlines,&#8217; and &#8216;minimum blood quantum,&#8217; all of which constitute unconstitutional racial categorizations. SBA should vigorously enforce the President&#8217;s Executive Orders, which require all agencies to eliminate racial preferences, including those remaining in Section 8(a),&#8221; he continued.
Murkowski and Sullivan&#8217;s letter read:
<blockquote>Fraud, waste, and abuse have no place in federal programs, and any participant who violates the law should be held fully accountable. However, we write to express serious concern with recent, unsubstantiated attacks on the Small Business Administration&#8217;s (SBA) 8(a) Business Development Program and the request that federal agencies halt all 8(a) sole-source awards absent verified findings of wrongdoing.
On December 8, 2025, the Chair of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship sent letters to 22 federal agencies urging a pause on future 8(a) sole-source awards and a review of prior awards based on allegations of &#8220;potential fraud.&#8221; These requests are premature, unsupported by established facts, and risk significant harm to federal missions and thousands of compliant small businesses that lawfully participate in this program. Broad, sensationalized allegations leveled before the completion of any investigation amount to a presumption of guilt and undermine fundamental principles of due process.
For more than 40 years, the 8(a) Program, authorized under Section 8(a) of the Small Business Act, has been one of the federal government&#8217;s most effective tools for promoting entrepreneurship and economic mobility for disadvantaged communities. Participating firms routinely deliver high-quality, specialized services, achieve strong Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) performance ratings, and provide agencies with cost-effective, timely procurement options. The program reduces administrative burden, shortens acquisition timelines, and avoids the delays and litigation risks that often accompany large-scale procurements. Further, as two Senators who care about the readiness of our military, we consistently hear from top Pentagon officials that the 8(a) Program provides flexibility and timeliness in procuring weapons systems that strengthen our country.
We fully support targeted, evidence-based oversight that identifies and removes bad actors. We cannot support sweeping actions that jeopardize thousands of legitimate businesses, many of which perform mission-critical work for your agency and others across the federal government.
Accordingly, we urge you to continue utilizing the 8(a) Program consistent with existing law and regulation, while allowing any appropriate reviews to proceed in an orderly and fact-driven manner. For decades, this program has reflected conservative, market-based principles by empowering small businesses to compete, grow, and succeed, rather than expanding government dependence on bureaucracy.</blockquote>
Editor&#8217;s note: Luke Rosiak <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/luke-rosiak-testifies-at-us-senate-hearing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">testified</a> to the Senate Committee on Small Business about 8(a) contract abuse.

Sens. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska.

Alaska Republicans Secretly Working To Protect Fraud-Plagued DEI Program

General

Lisa Murkowski

U.S.

U.S. Senate

Former Rep. Mary Peltola (D-AK) entered the United States Senate race in Alaska on Monday, which likely made the 2026 race against Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan more competitive.
Shortly after her announcement, the Cook Political Report moved the race from solid Republican to lean Republican.
“My agenda for Alaska will always be fish, family, and freedom,” she said in a video. “But our future also depends on fixing the rigged system in DC that’s shutting down Alaska while politicians feather their own nest.”
The announcement quickly appeared on the national radar, with the National Republican Senatorial Committee launching a digital ad against the Democrat.
&#8220;Peltola rubber-stamped Biden’s Alaska last policies and didn&#8217;t get a single bill signed into law,” the ad states. “Mary Peltola. Still radical. Still ineffective. Still Alaska Last.&#8221;
&#8220;After voters rejected Mary Peltola&#8217;s record pushing radical transgender policies and protecting Joe Biden&#8217;s relentless attacks on Alaska energy, she immediately cashed out to lobby for special interests,&#8221; NRSC Regional Press Secretary Nick Puglia said in a statement regarding the advertisement. &#8220;Voters trust Dan Sullivan to keep fighting for the Alaskan comeback and will reject Peltola again.&#8221;
On the flip side, it was welcomed news to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which posted to X that “Mary has always been a champion for Alaskans, focusing on her core values of fish, family, and freedom. This November, she’s going to win this seat.”
Statements from both committees could indicate that resources will be poured into the race, as Republicans currently hold 53 seats and Democrats hold 45, with two independents caucusing with Democrats.
The Cook Political Report has the Georgia, Michigan, Maine, and North Carolina Senate races ranked as toss-ups. Meanwhile, New Hampshire is rated as “Lean Democrat,” and Ohio is also rated with Alaska as “Lean Republican.”
Peltola was in Congress from 2022 to 2025, succeeding late Republican Rep. Don Young. Alaska uses a ranked-choice voting system, which led to her defeating former Republican Gov. Sarah Palin in the third round in 2022 with just under 55% of the vote, and then losing to Rep. Nick Begich III in 2024, who won with just over 51%.
Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who was re-elected in 2022, said she would back Sullivan.
“We&#8217;ve had a pretty solid team here in the Senate for the past 12 years, so we want to figure out how we&#8217;re going to keep in the majority,” the Senator said, according to <a href="https://alaskapublic.org/news/politics/washington-d-c/2026-01-12/mary-peltola-enters-alaska-u-s-senate-race" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Alaska Public Media</a>. “And Dan delivers that.”

US-POLITICS-ELECTION-PORTRAIT

Alaska Senate Race Heats Up After Prominent Democrat Enters Contest

2026 election

Elections

Politics

U.S. carrier Alaska Airlines said Friday it had restored operations after a technology outage that grounded flights across the country and forced it to cancel more than 400 flights, disrupting travel for more than 49,000 passengers.
Alaska Air Group said it planned to take immediate actions to upgrade its IT systems after the failure at its primary data center, adding it did not yet have an estimate of the financial impact the disruption may have on its fourth-quarter results.
Shares of the airline closed down 6% in heavy volume on Friday.
&#8220;We&#8217;re working to get everyone to their destinations as quickly as we can,&#8221; it said, adding &#8220;this level of performance is not acceptable.&#8221;
An IT outage had also forced the airline to ground all its flights for about three hours in July, which trimmed roughly 10 cents from its third-quarter profit per share.
Alaska Air said that, following the disruption in July, it had taken action to improve its IT systems, &#8220;but this failure underscores the work that remains to be done to ensure system stability.&#8221;
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&#8220;(We are) immediately bringing in outside technical experts to diagnose our entire IT infrastructure to ensure we are as resilient as we need to be,&#8221; it added.
Alaska Airlines asked the Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday evening for a temporary ground stop, which also affected Horizon Air, a subsidiary.
The halt was lifted at 11:30 p.m. PDT (0630 GMT Friday), the airline said, adding that the disruption resulted from a system outage and not a cyber attack.
The carrier on Thursday forecast fourth-quarter profit well below analysts&#8217; expectations, owing to higher fuel costs and operational challenges.
It also postponed its earnings call, originally scheduled for October 24, following Thursday&#8217;s outage.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh, Ismail Shakil, David Shepardson, Mrinmay Dey, Shivansh Tiwary and Abhinav Parmar; Additional reporting by Gnaneshwar Rajan; Editing by Jamie Freed, Christopher Cushing, Jane Merriman, Shinjini Ganguli and Edmund Klamann)

Alaska Airlines

Alaska Airlines Vows IT Upgrades After Major Outage Forced Over 400 Cancellations

Air Travel

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)

Technology

First Lady Melania Trump sent what is being called a &#8220;peace letter&#8221; to Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of his meeting in Alaska with President Donald Trump, where they discussed what steps needed to be taken to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.
The president, according to a <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/first-lady-melania-trumps-peace-letter-putin-it-time">report</a> published Saturday by Fox News Digital, hand-delivered the missive — and the Russian leader read it prior to the much-touted summit on Friday.
In the letter, the First Lady called on Putin to be the one to take the first steps toward lasting peace with Ukraine, saying that children — regardless of where they happened to have been born — deserve better than countries and families torn apart by war.
<blockquote>Dear President Putin,
Every child shares the same quiet dreams in their heart, whether born randomly into a nation’s rustic countryside or a magnificent city-center. They dream of love, possibility, and safety from danger.
As parents, it is our duty to nurture the next generation’s hope. As leaders, the responsibility to sustain our children extends beyond the comfort of a few. Undeniably, we must strive to paint a dignity-filled world for all—so that every soul may wake to peace, and so that the future itself is perfectly guarded. 
A simple yet profound concept, Mr. Putin, as I am sure you agree, is that each generation’s descendants begin their lives with a purity—an innocence which stands above geography, government, and ideology.</blockquote>
Trump went on to tell Putin that, should he finally put an end to the bloodshed, he would be able to restore the laughter of many children. &#8220;In protecting the innocence of these children, you will do more than serve Russia alone—you serve humanity itself,&#8221; she added.
&#8220;Such a bold idea transcends all human division, and you, Mr. Putin, are fit to implement this vision with a stroke of the pen today,&#8221; she concluded. &#8220;It is time.&#8221;
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Following the summit, President Trump said that he felt confident the pair had made progress — although he cautioned that the negotiations were certainly not yet over.
&#8220;There were many, many points that we agreed on, most of them, I would say. A couple of big ones that we haven&#8217;t quite gotten there, but we&#8217;ve made some headway. So, there&#8217;s no deal until there&#8217;s a deal,&#8221; he said.
Trump announced via Truth Social on Saturday morning that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would travel to Washington on Monday, and if their meeting went well, he would broker another meeting that also included Putin.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<a href="https://t.co/RtC9wBBtim">pic.twitter.com/RtC9wBBtim</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1956718970951635391?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 16, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

US-POLITICS-DIPLOMACY-WOMEN

Melania Trump Sent ‘Peace Letter’ To Putin Ahead Of Alaska Summit

Melania Trump Sent 'Peace Letter' To Putin Ahead Of Alaska Summit

Donald Trump

Global Politics

Melania Trump

Ukraine-Russia War

Vladimir Putin

The day before Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with President Trump at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, supporters of Ukraine showed up to protest the meeting, while Trump supporters are planning a rally in support of the president.
On Thursday evening, hundreds of people showed up at an intersection in Anchorage to protest the meeting, holding Ukrainian flags, with a marching band in attendance, the Anchorage Daily News <a href="https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/anchorage/2025/08/14/pro-ukraine-rally-draws-hundreds-of-alaskans-ahead-of-trump-putin-meeting/">reported</a>.
“I can see fascists from my house,” one protester’s sign read, referring to Saturday Night Live’s 2008 parody of former Alaskan governor Sarah Putin in which they had cast member Tina Fey say, “I can see Russia from my house.”
“Putin won’t stop at Ukraine,” was emblazoned on another sign.
More than a dozen protests are planned all over the 49th state as well.
“At least 16 protest events are scheduled to take place across Alaska from Thursday through Saturday, protesting the meeting and demonstrating solidarity with Ukraine, from Fairbanks to Kodiak to Ketchikan,” the Alaska Beacon <a href="https://alaskabeacon.com/2025/08/14/protests-planned-across-alaska-in-solidarity-with-ukraine-ahead-of-trump-putin-summit/">reported</a> on Thursday.
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A Friday rally to support Trump’s efforts is being led by Alaska Republicans. State Party Chairman Carmela Warfield <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/s/alaskans-for-trump-sign-waving/3691397374494918/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote </a>on Facebook, “This Friday marks a truly historic moment for Alaska, President Donald J. Trump is visiting our great state &amp; all eyes will be on Anchorage! Let’s show the President and the world that we stand with President Donald J. Trump! I am inviting you to gather your friends and come together for a Sign Waving Rally to welcome the President! This is our time to show him the warmth, energy, and unity of our movement.”
Meanwhile, a Ukrainian priest who serves at St. Nicholas of Myra church was praying for Trump to succeed; Father Vasyl Mutka <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/b2c26041-d1b4-44d3-96fe-cb1f17cd39fa?utm_source=chatgpt.com">stated</a>, “May God give the right words to President Trump. And Putin be open to accept this message.”
Zori Opanasevych, executive director of a non-profit helping refugees, who emigrated from Ukraine in the 1990, said of the local Ukrainian community, which she said saw over 1,000 refugees from the Russia-Ukraine war flee to Alaska, “Even though they might not like it, they are still also hopeful that, ‘What if this time it works?’ We are hoping for the best. We have to.”

US-POLITICS-TRUMP

Rallies And Protests Set To Erupt In Alaska As Historic Trump-Putin Meeting Occurs

Pro-Trump, Anti-Trump Rallies In Alaska As Historic Trump-Putin Meeting Occurs

Russia

Ukraine

President Trump and Vladimir Putin are set to meet in Alaska today for a high-stakes summit aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. The Trump administration orders a sweeping review of Smithsonian museums to remove &#8220;woke&#8221; and &#8220;divisive&#8221; narratives from exhibits. A 16-year-old girl wins a federal court case in New York, forcing her school to accept a medical vaccine exemption in a state that bans religious exemptions.
It’s Friday, August 15, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.
Morning Wire is available on video! You can watch today’s episode here:
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<h2>Trump and Putin Face Off in Alaska Summit</h2>
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Topline: President Trump is set to sit down with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska today for a high-stakes, one-on-one meeting that could set the stage for ending the war in Ukraine. 
The two leaders will meet at an Air Force Base in Anchorage for what President Trump has called a &#8220;feel out&#8221; meeting. &#8220;This meeting sets up the second meeting,&#8221; Trump said Thursday. &#8220;The second meeting is going to be very, very important because that&#8217;s going to be a meeting where they make a deal.&#8221; 
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was not invited to the initial summit, warned that Putin is not preparing for a ceasefire and will use the meeting as a &#8220;personal victory.&#8221; Trump has offered assurances that if the talks go well, Zelensky will be included in a future meeting. 
Putin enters the negotiations with more leverage than he had earlier in the war, with Russia now controlling about 18% of Ukrainian territory. His likely demands include formally retaining seized land, a guarantee that Ukraine will never join NATO, and the normalization of economic ties with the U.S. 
<h2>Trump Orders Review of ‘Woke’ Smithsonian Museums</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-961135" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.15.25-SH2-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.15.25-SH2-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.15.25-SH2-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.15.25-SH2-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.15.25-SH2-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.15.25-SH2.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
Topline: The Trump administration has ordered a sweeping review of eight Smithsonian museums to remove what the White House calls &#8220;divisive, race-centered ideology&#8221; and restore an &#8220;America First&#8221; vision to the nation&#8217;s cultural institutions. 
In a letter released this week, the administration announced a comprehensive review to remove &#8220;divisive or partisan narratives&#8221; and ensure exhibits are &#8220;historically accurate.&#8221; The move has drawn fierce criticism, with one museum educator comparing it to the actions of the Taliban.
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Supporters of the review argue that a rewriting of history has already taken place through the embrace of woke ideology. In an appearance on CNN, TV personality Jillian Michaels pointed to a Smithsonian exhibit on gender in sports that calls gender testing &#8220;complex.&#8221; &#8220;It&#8217;s not complex. It&#8217;s basic science,&#8221; she said. &#8220;It&#8217;s XX chromosome, XY chromosome.&#8221; 
President Trump defended the review, saying, &#8220;We want the museums to talk about the history of our country in a fair manner, not in a woke manner or in a racist manner.&#8221; The Smithsonian’s board of regents, which includes Vice President JD Vance, has agreed to cooperate with the review. The move is part of a broader cultural push by the president, who recently vetoed several &#8220;woke&#8221; honorees for the Kennedy Center awards, selecting Sylvester Stallone, George Strait, Gloria Gaynor, Michael Crawford, and the rock band KISS instead. 
<h2>New York Teen Wins Vaccine Exemption Case</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-961137" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.15.25-SH3-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.15.25-SH3-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.15.25-SH3-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.15.25-SH3-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.15.25-SH3-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.15.25-SH3.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
Topline: A 16-year-old girl has won a federal court case against her New York public school, which must now honor her medical exemption for a vaccine in a state that has banned religious exemptions. 
On Tuesday, a federal court granted a medical exemption to the teen, identified as &#8220;Sarah Doe,&#8221; ordering her school to allow her to attend classes this fall. The case is significant because New York is one of four states that do not allow religious exemptions, and families have reported that schools are increasingly denying valid medical exemptions as well. 
After New York ended religious exemptions in 2019, Sarah received 18 vaccine doses in two months to comply with school mandates. She subsequently developed severe autoimmune conditions and a bleeding disorder. Six different doctors advised her to skip her final Hepatitis B vaccine dose, but the school repeatedly denied the exemption. 
The family&#8217;s attorney, Sujata Gibson, argued that New York&#8217;s regulations have led to hundreds of children with longstanding medical exemptions having them revoked, forcing some to get vaccinated against medical advice. She believes the school&#8217;s actions are a &#8220;square violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.&#8221; With vocal vaccine exemption supporter Robert F. Kennedy Jr. now leading HHS, federal guidance on the issue may be forthcoming.

MRN 8.15.25 Thumbnail V1

Morning Brief: Trump & Putin Alaska Summit, Anti-Woke Review Of Federal Museums, NY Vaxx Case

New York

Smithsonian Museum

Vaccines

Volodymyr Zelensky

Tsunami waves caused by a massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake off the east coast of Russia hit Hawaii, California, and Washington late Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.
Maui reported waves as high as 5.7 feet, while Crescent City, California, saw waves up to 3.6 feet, NBC News <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/live-blog/live-updates-hawaii-tsunami-warning-hours-russia-earthquake-rcna221881">reported</a>. While the strongest tsunami surges appear to be over for Hawaii, Alaska, and much of the West Coast, <a href="https://www.tsunami.gov/">warnings</a> remain in effect for parts of Northern California, including Eureka and Crescent City.
The National Weather Service office in Eureka, California, said early Wednesday morning that &#8220;Tsunami activity is continuing to build this morning as we approach the 4 AM minor high tide.&#8221;
&#8220;Continue to avoid beaches and harbors as tsunami activity will persist,&#8221; the NWS added.
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Tsunami activity is continuing to build this morning as we approach the 4 AM minor high tide. Maximum confirmed heights for our coast so far:
Crescent City: 3.6 Ft Humboldt Bay: 1.2 Ft Arena Cover: 3.0 Ft
Continue to avoid beaches and harbors as tsunami activity will persist. <a href="https://t.co/ellGAUW9C7">pic.twitter.com/ellGAUW9C7</a>
&mdash; NWS Eureka (@NWSEureka) <a href="https://twitter.com/NWSEureka/status/1950493912381919733?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
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The NWS issued a strong warning for Crescent City and Humboldt Bay just after midnight local time, saying, &#8220;The first Tsunami waves are beginning to impact the coast with clear waves being recorded at the Crescent City and Humboldt Bay tide gauges. Waves will continue to build in through the night and will become more dangerous as we approach high tide. Stay away from beaches!&#8221;
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The first Tsunami waves are beginning to impact the coast with clear waves being recorded at the Crescent City and Humboldt Bay tide gauges. 
Waves will continue to build in through the night and will become more dangerous as we approach high tide. Stay away from beaches! <a href="https://t.co/EKR5gZukCH">pic.twitter.com/EKR5gZukCH</a>
&mdash; NWS Eureka (@NWSEureka) <a href="https://twitter.com/NWSEureka/status/1950463263902204270?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Northern California is especially prone to damage from tsunamis, as waves are often stronger in the area and reach higher in harbors than in other parts of the West Coast, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, USA Today <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2025/07/29/magnitude-8-7-earthquake-russia-tsunami-alert/85432493007/">reported</a>.
No deaths or severe structural damage have been reported in Alaska, Hawaii, or the West Coast as of Wednesday morning. Evacuation orders for Hawaii were <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2025/07/29/magnitude-8-7-earthquake-russia-tsunami-alert/85432493007/">lifted</a> hours after they were issued as the surge calmed. Emergency officials in the state said that they did not expect any widespread flooding, giving residents the all-clear to return to their homes, but adding that people should &#8220;remain cautious in or near the water. &#8230; Stay away from beaches, shorelines, and out of the ocean.&#8221;
Tsunami waves hit Washington state shortly after midnight local time, but officials said that though &#8220;strong and unusual&#8221; currents were likely, they did not expect any coastal inundation. For Oregon, officials downgraded a tsunami watch to an advisory, but still warned people to stay away from the shore.
While Alaska&#8217;s warning was also downgraded to an advisory, forecasters said that currents at beaches, inlets, and harbors could remain dangerous for days. The coast of British Columbia, Canada, also remains under a tsunami advisory.
The 8.8 magnitude earthquake off of Russia&#8217;s remote east coast was in the top 10 strongest earthquakes in recorded history, and the biggest since 2011. Japan and some Pacific islands also issued tsunami warnings and advisories after the quake. Waves reached the U.S. territory of Guam in the early morning hours, with waves reaching up to a foot high and bringing the potential of minor flooding and strong currents. As tsunami alerts went out, nearly two million people in Japan were told to evacuate. The country later <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/live/c3r4x9yrrg4t">downgraded</a> its warnings to advisories.

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Tsunami Waves Crash Into West Coast, Alaska, Hawaii

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A magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off Russia&#8217;s Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula on Wednesday, generating a tsunami of up to 4 metres (13 feet), damaging buildings and prompting evacuation warnings in the area and across most of Japan&#8217;s east coast, officials said.
&#8220;Today&#8217;s earthquake was serious and the strongest in decades of tremors,&#8221; Kamchatka Governor Vladimir Solodov said in a video posted on the Telegram messaging app, adding that a kindergarten was damaged.
A tsunami with a height of 3-4 metres (10-13 feet) was recorded in parts of Kamchatka, Sergei Lebedev, regional minister for emergency situations said, urging people to move away from the shoreline of the peninsula.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake was shallow at a depth of 19.3 km (12 miles), and was centred 126 km (80 miles) east-southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, a city of 165,000 along the coast of Avacha Bay. It revised the magnitude up from 8.0 earlier.
The Japan Weather Agency upgraded its warning, saying it expected tsunami waves of up to 3 metres (10 feet) to reach large coastal areas starting around 0100 GMT. Broadcast NHK said evacuation orders had been issued by the government for some areas.
Factory workers and residents in Japan&#8217;s northern Hokkaido evacuated to a hill overlooking the ocean, footage from broadcaster TBS showed.
&#8220;Please evacuate quickly. If you can move quickly to higher ground and away from the coast,&#8221; a newscaster on Japanese public broadcaster NHK said.
The U.S. Tsunami Warning System also issued a warning of &#8220;hazardous tsunami waves&#8221; within the next three hours along some coasts of Russia, Japan, Alaska and Hawaii. A tsunami watch was also in effect for the U.S. island territory of Guam and other islands of Micronesia.
Hawaii ordered evacuations from some coastal areas. &#8220;Take Action! Destructive tsunami waves expected,&#8221; the Honolulu Department of Emergency Management said on X.
An evacuation order for the small town of Severo-Kurilsk, south of the Kamchatka peninsula, was declared due to the tsunami threat, Sakhalin Governor Valery Limarenko said on Telegram.
Several people sought medical assistance following the quake, Oleg Melnikov, regional health minister told Russia’s TASS state news agency.
&#8220;Unfortunately, there are some people injured during the seismic event. Some were hurt while running outside, and one patient jumped out of a window. A woman was also injured inside the new airport terminal,” Melnikov said.
“All patients are currently in satisfactory condition, and no serious injuries have been reported so far.”
The Kamchatka branch of the Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences said it was a very powerful earthquake.
&#8220;However, due to certain characteristics of the epicentre, the shaking intensity was not as high &#8230; as one might expect from such a magnitude,&#8221; it said in a video on Telegram.
“Aftershocks are currently ongoing &#8230; Their intensity will remain fairly high. However, stronger tremors are not expected in the near future. The situation is under control.”
Kamchatka and Russia&#8217;s Far East sit on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a geologically active region that is prone to major earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
(Reporting by Anusha Shah Nilutpal Timsina and Mrinmay Dey in Bengaluru, Lidia Kelly in Melbourne and Satoshi Sugiyama in Tokyo; Writing by Lincoln Feast; Editing by Stephen Coates)

Hawaii tsunami evacuation area sign

Powerful Quake Causes Tsunami, Endangering U.S., Russia, And Japan

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The Pentagon has successfully tested a long-range radar in Alaska that can detect missile threats from Russia or China, and could someday serve as a sensor in the Golden Dome missile defense shield.
The Long Range Discrimination Radar successfully acquired, tracked, and reported missile target data, the Pentagon said on Tuesday. These are key tasks for Golden Dome, a $175 billion program aimed at protecting the U.S. and possibly allies from ballistic missiles.
The U.S. Defense Department&#8217;s long-range radar in Central Alaska was built by Lockheed Martin as part of the existing Ground-Based Midcourse Defense missile defense system. The system is designed to increase the effectiveness of interceptors based in Alaska and California that are currently on standby to knock down incoming missiles launched by Iran or North Korea.
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency, alongside the U.S. Space Force and U.S. Northern Command, conducted the flight test at Clear Space Force Station, Alaska, on Monday.
During this test, a target developed by MDA was air-launched over the Northern Pacific Ocean and flew over 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles) off the southern coast of Alaska where it was tracked by LRDR.
The Golden Dome missile defense shield aims to create a network of satellites to detect, track, and intercept incoming missiles.
Inspired by Israel&#8217;s Iron Dome, the Golden Dome program faces political scrutiny and funding uncertainty due to its projected cost. The shield is expected to be operational by January 2029, though experts question the timeline and budget feasibility.
The Golden Dome project was announced by President Donald Trump in May and is included in the &#8220;One, Big, Beautiful Bill.&#8221; Trump said the Golden Dome is a continuation of former President Ronald Reagan&#8217;s &#8220;Strategic Defense Initiative&#8221; that was launched in 1983 and sought to build a space-based missile defense system.
&#8220;Our enemies, our adversaries are going to pay a lot of attention to this,&#8221; Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said last month.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="The Golden Dome Missile Defense Shield" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-xWxN_qObfI?start=56&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
(Reporting by Mike Stone in Washington; Editing by Matthew Lewis)

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks about Golden Dome in the White House

U.S. Successfully Tests Radar That Could Link To Trump’s ‘Golden Dome’ To Detect Missile Threats

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