Alaska Air Group Reports Record Third Quarter 2013 Results

Photo Credit: Kiskadee 3Alaska Air Group, Inc., (NYSE: ALK) today reported third quarter 2013 GAAP net income of $289 million, or $4.08 per diluted share, compared to $163 million, or $2.27 per diluted share in the third quarter of 2012. Excluding the impact of mark-to-market fuel hedge adjustments of $20 million ($12 million after tax, or $0.17 per diluted share), and a one-time special revenue item of $192 million ($120 million after tax, or $1.70 per diluted share) that primarily resulted from the application of new accounting rules associated with the modified affinity card agreement, the company reported record adjusted net income of $157 million, or $2.21 per diluted share, compared to adjusted net income of $150 million, or $2.09 per diluted share, in 2012.

“These results represent our best quarter ever and mark Alaska’s 18th consecutive quarterly profit,” Alaska Air Group CEO Brad Tilden said. “This is noteworthy given significant additional competition in some of our core markets. The balance and strength of our network combined with the ability of our people to respond quickly to changing business conditions are enabling us to succeed in this highly competitive industry.”

The following table reconciles the company’s reported GAAP net income and earnings per diluted share (EPS) during the third quarters of 2013 and 2012 to adjusted amounts:

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Begich, Other Senate Dems Join Call to Delay ObamaCare Mandate Amid Website Failures

Photo Credit: APSeveral Democratic senators are calling on the Obama administration to delay enforcement of the health care law’s individual mandate, joining their Republican colleagues in saying it would be unfair to penalize Americans for failing to buy insurance when the primary sign-up website doesn’t work.

The Democratic dominoes began to fall quickly Wednesday, after Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., circulated a letter urging President Obama to extend enrollment beyond March 31, 2014.

Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., in a statement released late Wednesday, said: “I believe, given the technical issues, it makes sense to extend the time for people to sign up.”…

The White House, while defending the health care law and vowing to fix the problems with the website, has not explicitly ruled out the possibility of delaying the individual mandate. Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, also backed Shaheen’s call in a written statement Wednesday.

“I have repeatedly said this law is not perfect and have proposed changes to make it work for Alaska families and small businesses,” he said. “Given the recent website issues, I also support extending open enrollment season. I want to work with the administration to ensure that individuals are not unfairly penalized if technical issues with the website continue.”

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Sen. David Vitter Calls on DOJ to Investigate Armed EPA Raid in Alaska

Photo Credit: APSen. David Vitter (R., La.) called on the Justice Department (DOJ) Tuesday to investigate an armed raid by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) agents on an Alaskan gold mine that occurred earlier this year.

Vitter, in a letter sent Tuesday to Attorney General Eric Holder, requested the Justice Department investigate the EPA raid, which occurred at a gold mine in Chicken, Alaska earlier this year as part of an investigation into violations of the Clean Water Act.

“The EPA’s use of unnecessary armed intimidation tactics against Alaska miners this summer was extreme, especially to investigate potential Clean Water Act violations from what are essentially a handful of small business owners,” said Vitter, the ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. “At the very least, EPA owes Congress and the American people a thorough explanation, but since they have refused to publicly explain their raid, I hope DOJ will investigate EPA’s excessive actions.”

Vitter and Sen. John Barrasso (R., Wyo.) sent a letter in September calling on EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy to explain the circumstances of the inspection, which rankled Alaskan politicians and residents already distrustful of the nation’s top environmental enforcer.

“According to several news outlets, EPA agents needlessly intimidated miners last month near Chicken while investigating supposed Clean Water Act (CWA) violations, going so far as to wear full body armor and carry guns in confronting the surprised miners,” the senators said.

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Palin: Disloyal, Corrupt GOP Establishment Colluding with Obama

Photo Credit: Reuters/LandovFormer Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin may have taken another step toward seeking the 2016 Republican Presidential nomination with a combative op-ed on Breitbart.

Recalling that she had once beaten crooked Republican politicians in Alaska – who’d brazenly tagged themselves “the Corrupt Bastards Club” – Palin rhetorically asked: “Doesn’t it seem like [today] we have a Corrupt Bastards Club in D.C.? On steroids?”

Disloyal Republicans are enabling President Barack Obama to march the country toward socialism while denouncing Sens. Ted Cruz, Mike Lee and tea party-aligned House members who have been trying to defund Obamacare, Palin charged.

Establishment GOP politicians failed to use the power of the purse to halt Obamacare’s implementation. Instead, “they balked, waved the white flag, and joined the lapdog media in trashing the good guys who fought for us,” Palin wrote.

She challenged the Republican establishment to unite behind conservative grassroots efforts to block Obamacare before it is too late.

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Alaska’s Supply of Flu Shots Safe in Shutdown

Photo Credit: paulswansenAlaska’s supply of flu vaccinations was not affected during the federal government’s partial shutdown, but efforts to monitor influenza were crippled before furloughed federal workers were able to return to work.

The 16-day shutdown came to a close after the House and Senate voted late Wednesday to end it.

During the shutdown, no one at the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention produced the agency’s weekly surveillance report. The CDC typically analyzes data and tracks flu cases in all 50 states.

During the shutdown, thousands of CDC workers were on furlough.

In Alaska, there should be an adequate supply of flu shots for all providers, the Anchorage Daily News reported.

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Alaska Has Zero Obamacare Enrollees

Though Alaska’s Sen. Mark Begich (D) promised an “aggressive strategy” to assure the success of ObamaCare in his state, not one Alaskan has been able to sign up for his state’s exchange.

In June, Senate Democrats who voted to approve ObamaCare vowed to double down in their support of the law that has proven to be a disastrous nightmare in its rollout.

“I don’t run from my votes,” Begich told the Associated Press. “Politicians who sit around and say, ‘That’s controversial so I better run from it,’ just ask for trouble. Voters may not always agree with you, but they respect people who think about these issues and talk about them.”

Begich reminded voters that, as a 2008 candidate, he called for an end to insurers denying coverage to those with pre-existing conditions, an end to lifetime coverage limits, and an easy transition for workers to leave their jobs and still have insurance under the new exchanges.

“There’s a lot of good that people will realize as this all comes online,” Begich said of ObamaCare’s exchanges.

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Miller Welcomes Dan Sullivan Into the U.S. Senate Race

Fairbanks, Alaska. October 15, 2013 — Today U.S. Senate candidate Joe Miller welcomed Dan Sullivan into the U.S. Senate race in Alaska.

Campaign spokesman Randy DeSoto stated, “Competition is good for the Republican Party. We look forward to a healthy debate about how to best restore what has been our nation’s true birthright: to live in a land where our constitutional freedoms are secure and where the American dream is alive and well. We trust during the course of this campaign the primary voters will learn the clear distinctions between the candidates and their views of the role of government in our daily lives.”

Sullivan joins Miller and Mead Treadwell, who officially announced his candidacy last month. John Jaramillo and Kathleen Tonn have also indicated they will seek the Republican nomination.

Senate GOP Blocks Dems from Extending Debt Limit Beyond 2014 Midterm Elections

Photo Credit: Cliff Owen Senate Republicans on Saturday blocked a bid by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to extend the nation’s debt limit until after the 2014 midterm elections.

In an 53-45 vote, the Senate failed to win the 60 votes necessary to advance the debt-limit measure to a floor debate. The bill would increase the federal debt by an estimated $1.1 trillion.

Every Democrat supported the measure, though Reid switched his vote at the end to preserve the right to bring the motion up for another vote later.

Republicans criticized the legislation as politically transparent. Sen. Susan Collins (Maine) and two other centrist GOP senators have instead proposed raising the debt-limit only until Jan. 31, 2014.

During the vote, a large number of Democratic senators huddled around Collins (R-Maine). Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), the other two GOP centrists backing the Collins plan, joined her.

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Special Counsel to Investigate Armed EPA Mining Raid in Alaska

Photo Credit: jkbrooks85Alaska’s governor, Sean Parnell, announced Thursday that a special counsel has been named to investigate raids by conducted by federal and state authorities near the town of Chicken.

“Alaskans deserve to know all the facts in this case,” Parnell said in a Thursday press release. “While these facts are being gathered, I will continue to be vigilant in defense of Alaskans’ liberty and personal property.

Anchorage attorney Brent Cole will be asked to determine, among other things, whether any laws were violated and if different actions could have been taken. The report is due within 90 days.

A spokesman for the federal Environmental Protection Agency, at the time, did not deny that agents wore body armor and carried guns, but said it was not a “raid.” The task force included members from 10 state and federal law enforcement agencies.

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Alaska Slams Feds for Keeping Hunters off Land

Photo Credit: Alex SlitzAlaska lawmakers accused the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service of violating federal law by shutting down hunting on its lands during the government shutdown, saying a 1980 law guarantees state residents must have access to the land.

“It seems that agencies are working harder to keep people off federal lands than they have ever worked before to get them to visit federal lands,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Alaska Republican, who questioned the Obama administration’s decisions during the week-old shutdown.

The National Park Service has faced scorching criticism for closing not just parks, but even parking lots and drives that don’t require continual monitoring or upkeep. Other federal land management agencies also are facing criticism.

A tour guide who had a group at Yellowstone National Park accused the Park Service of “Gestapo tactics” in trying to prevent visitors from viewing any of the sites, saying that while they were allowed to remain at the lodge in the park, they were not allowed to do much else — including walk on the boardwalk paths outside the lodge or visit the park’s geysers.

And when he took the tour bus with his group along the road and stopped to photograph bison, he said, a ranger drove up behind them and told them they could be charged with trespassing.

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