“Social media promised us connection and the ability to productively engage with each other in life’s joyful and mundane moments. What social media gave us was a generation of children scarred by bullying, harassment, doom-scrolling and predation,” - Gov. Mike Dunleavy, in a statement following the announcement of a landmark $17 billion multistate settlement with Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram.
A vehicle drives past the trans-Alaska pipeline near Galbraith Lake on the Dalton Highway, Alaska. Pump Station 4 is visible in the background. Fedearl regulators are beginning the process of granting a renewed right-of-way agreement to allow 30 more years of operations. (Photo by Craig McCaa/U.S. Bureau of Land Management)
By Yereth Rosen
Forty-nine years after it began transporting crude oil from Prudhoe Bay, the Trans Alaska Pipeline System is due for a regulatory renewal that will allow it to keep operating on federal lands into future decades.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has kicked off the process to renew the right-of-way agreement for the pipeline.
The four gubernatorial candidates emerging from Alaska's open primary gathered on the stage on Aug. 26, 2026 at the annual conference held by the Alaska Oil and Gas Association. From left are Republican Bernadette Wilson, Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tompkins, Republican Dave Bronson and Democrat Tom Begich. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
By Yereth Rosen
At their first candidate forum since the Aug. 18 primary election, the four remaining gubernatorial hopefuls pitched visions for the state’s future that revealed sharp political divides.
Meta, which owns social media platforms Facebook and Instagram, has agreed to a $17 billion multistate settlement announced on Aug. 26, 2026. Alaska is set to receive up to $23 million over the next ten years. (Photo by Corinne Smith/Alaska Beacon)
By Corinne Smith
Alaska is set to receive up to $23 million from Meta Platforms Inc. under a landmark $17 billion settlement agreement that would also require the company to implement a sweeping set of safety features for its social media platforms, aimed at protecting children from addictive features and harmful content.
Thermokarst ponds, or trough ponds, typically form when the ice in permafrost melts. They can also drain quickly. (Photo by Anna Liljedahl)
COMMENTARY
By Anna Liljedahl and Imgar Nitze
Florida gets a lot of attention for its sinkholes, especially when they swallow cars and entire houses. But its sinkhole risk has nothing on Alaska’s.
Much of Alaska’s soil is permafrost – ground that remains below 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius) for at least two consecutive years. It is often rich with ice, but when that ice melts, the ground can collapse. As temperatures rise, that’s happening more often across the Arctic.
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