Russia Claims it has Developed “Super Weapon,” Then Flies Bombers Near Alaska on July 4th

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By Justin Fishel and Luis Martinez. As Americans were celebrating the Fourth of July holiday, four Russian long-range bomber aircraft flew close enough to the US shores that they were intercepted by military fighter jets. The first set of two bombers flew near Alaska and just 30 minutes later a separate set flew far off the west coast of California.

According to officials at NORAD the flights stayed within international airspace and at no time did any of the Russian bombers enter or get close to entering sovereign North American boundaries.

The first incident occurred at approximately 10:30 a.m. EDT on July 4, when Alaskan-based NORAD F-22 fighters intercepted and visually identified two Russian TU-95 “Bear” long-range bomber aircraft flying off the coast of the Aleutian Islands within the Air Defense Identification Zone (an area of international waters that stretches 200 miles from US coastline), officials at NORAD said in a statement to ABC News. (Read more from “Russian Bombers Near Alaska on July 4th” HERE)

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Russia Claims to Have Developed Secret ‘Superweapon’ Capable of Switching off Foreign Satellites and Enemy Weapons

By Mark Prigg. Russia has claimed to have built a revolutionary new weapon system that can render enemy satellites and weapons useless.
Its Russian makers say it is a ‘fundamentally new electronic warfare system’ which can be mounted on ground-based as well as air- and sea-borne carriers.

However, it has refused to reveal how the system works.

It is described as ‘a fundamentally new electronic warfare system capable of suppressing cruise missile and other high-precision weaponry guidance systems and satellite radio-electronic equipment.’ (Read more from this story HERE)

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Recovery Crew Reaches Wreckage of Deadly Alaska Plane Crash

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A recovery crew Friday reached the wreckage of a sightseeing plane that crashed into an Alaskan mountainside Thursday, killing eight cruise ship passengers and the pilot.

Chris John of the Ketchikan Volunteer Rescue Squad said three members from his organization reached the site Friday and were securing the aircraft, which was sitting at a steep angle, in order to allow for recovery of the bodies . . .

“The initial rescue crew that went in had a very tough time because of the terrain,” National Transportation Safety Board official Clint Johnson said, “It’s a very steep, mountainous area, and weather conditions caused them to stand down.’

There was no immediate indication of why the DeHavilland DHC-3 Otter turboprop crashed. It was found Thursday against the cliff’s granite rock face, 800 feet above Ella Lake.

Johnson said it was too soon to know circumstances of the crash, including whether the plane flew into the cliff. The NTSB was assembling a high-level team to investigate the crash, including three members from Alaska and at least two people from Washington, D.C. (Read more from “Recovery Crew Reaches Wreckage of Deadly Alaska Plane Crash” HERE)

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Cat Survives 2-Month Move to Fairbanks, Alaska Inside Mattress [+video]

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Moosie is finally among his fellow moose in Alaska after spending two months traveling in a mattress.

In April, the 2-year-old tabby’s owners, Kymberly and Jesse Chelf, were packing up to move from El Paso, Texas, to Jesse’s new army assignment in Fairbanks, Alaska, when Moosie disappeared, reports the Associated Press.

“We just assumed he had run away, which was very unlike Moosie,” Kymberly Chelf said. “He’s just a very loyal, loving cat.”

The feline was still MIA when the movers arrived to begin the long 3,700-mile journey to the last frontier, so the Chelfs stayed behind three extra days searching for their beloved pet. Alas, their search turned up nothing . . .

It took 64 days for all of the belongings, cat-carrying futon included, to arrive in Fairbanks. As soon as the mattress was unwrapped and taken into the house, Moosie made his presence known, letting out his mightiest meow. (Read more from “Cat Survives 2-Month Move to Alaska Inside Mattress” HERE)

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Alaska Wildfire’s More Than Triple Overnight, America’s Top Wildfire Priority

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Photo Credit: Twitter Wildfire experts in Alaska expected the Card Street Fire to double in size, but Mother Nature was not helping to slow the inferno’s growth. Tuesday, the fire was at only 1,500 acres, and Wednesday’s footprint was not much greater. By Thursday, the Card Street Fire is estimated to have engulfed about 9,000 acres, according to KTUU News. As of Thursday afternoon, officials reported that besides for the 9,000 acres, there has been no containment of the fire.

In many areas, state officials have implemented a ban on all fires in state parks and on state land. Many campground areas are closed completely. The fire is sending plumes of smoke miles into the sky, fueled by strong westerly winds. According to the Alaska Coordination, the Card Street Fire is the number one priority wildfire in the nation Thursday, surpassing the critical concern of Alaska’s Sockeye Fire, which was deemed the most dangerous in the nation Wednesday and was reportedly set off by fireworks.

(The following are pictures of the rapidly expanding Healy Lake Fire from Alaska’s DNR’s Facebook:)

Unfortunately, Thursday’s weather will continue to foster fire growth with higher than normal temperatures, low humidity, and dry winds . . .

Wyoming Interagency Hotshots reported Wednesday that the team was on its way to assist in Alaska’s wildfires. A state of disaster has already been declared due to the destruction caused by the Card Street Fire, which is still burning fiercely. (Read more from “Alaska Wildfire’s More Than Triple Overnight, America’s Top Wildfire Priority” HERE)

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Second Wildfire Prompts More Evacuations in Alaska

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Photo Credit: AP [Editor’s note: For updates on Alaska’s fires, please click HERE] Fire crews are battling a second wildfire in Alaska and officials say hundreds of homes have been evacuated and six structures have burned.

The fast-moving blaze erupted Monday on the Kenai Peninsula, roughly 100 miles south of a major wildfire that started a day earlier near Willow in the heart of the state’s sled-dog community.

The new fire was first reported in the early afternoon as a 1-acre grass fire near the community of Sterling, but by early evening it had expanded to 640 acres was threatening some 200 homes.

Alaska’s Department of Natural Resources says in a news release that the “explosive wildland fire on the Kenai Peninsula forced the evacuation of hundreds of homes,” but did not provide a more precise figure. The statement said that it’s still unclear if the burned structures are homes or some other type of buildings . . .

The Willow fire has led to the voluntary evacuation of up to 1,700 structures and has struck the heart of sled dog country, including 15 or so mushers who call Willow home. (Read more from “Second Wildfire Prompts More Evacuations in Alaska” HERE)

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Alaskan Mushers Risk Lives to Save Dogs

By Michael E. Miller. The dogs were the first ones to smell the smoke.

As a raging wildfire crept closer and closer to the Alaskan town of Willow on Sunday, the animals began barking before the alarms sounded.

But as smoke blackened the midnight sun over a community known for its dog sledding, the sport’s heroic stars couldn’t flee: They were stuck inside cages or bound with chains.

So their owners stayed, risking their lungs and lives and homes to rescue their beloved animals. Even as the smoke poured in. Even as the rest of their belongings went up in flames.

“The troopers may not have been very happy, but we had to go” help the dogs, DeeDee Jonrowe, a veteran dog musher, told local TV station KTUU. “The concept of any animal burning is just almost too much to bear.” (Read more from this story HERE)

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Soldier Killed During Fort Wainwright, Alaska Training Exercise

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The Army says a 23-year-old soldier died during a training exercise at Fort Wainwright.

The Fairbanks News-Miner reports that the soldier was killed by a single-vehicle rollover accident on Wednesday.

The Army says Spc. Tyrice Weaver died from injuries caused when his 5-ton tactical vehicle rolled while conducting a platoon convoy at the Yukon Training Area. (Read more from “Soldier Killed During Fort Wainwright, Alaska Training Exercise” HERE)

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Team Elsie Piddock Sails to First Place in Inaugural Race to Alaska

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Team Elsie Piddock swept first place in the inaugural Race to Alaska Friday afternoon, taking home the $10,000 prize and beating the others to a celebration in Ketchikan . . .

The team finished the 710-mile sailing race from Victoria to Ketchikan in 5 days and 55 minutes, without a motor on the boat to help (per the race’s rules), and raced the 40 miles from Port Townsend to Victoria in 4 hours and 11 minutes, also according to Facebook. (Read more from “Team Elsie Piddock Sails to First Place in Inaugural Race to Alaska” HERE)

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Man Charged With Intentionally Killing Bald Eagles With His Truck in Alaska

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An Oregon man has been charged with intentionally driving his pickup truck into a group of bald eagles feeding on an Alaska roadway, killing two of them, authorities said Thursday.

Dennis C. Thompson, 28, of Union, Oregon, was cited on a count of using a motorized vehicle to harass or molest game, the Division of Alaska State Troopers said. Thompson is scheduled to be arraigned June 30 in Unalaska District Court, the division said.

Unalaska Police Chief Jamie Sunderland told NBC station KTUU the incident happened Sunday night in Dutch Harbor, a community on Unalaska in the Alaska part of the Aleutian Islands.

“Somebody called us and said there was someone who had ran over an eagle,” Sunderland said. “They said there was blood, and it was flopping around, that someone should come put it down.” (Read more from “Man Charged With Intentionally Killing Bald Eagles With His Truck in Alaska” HERE)

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Alaska’s Joint Army-Air Force Base Promotes, Sponsors First Drag Queen Event for Families, Children

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Using federal tax dollars, Alaska’s Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER) is promoting a “family event” involving drag queens and the transgender “Rev. Drew Phoenix” – formerly Ann Gordon – who made national headlines over her sex change and effort to keep her Methodist credentials several years ago.

The base’s first drag queen event, published on JBER’s official Facebook page, announces “special drag performances by: Hank and Callie”:

The full post continues:

Apparently, the military base believes that this is a family-friendly event, stating that “family members are encouraged to attend.”

The military base’s efforts to promote the LGBT agenda has drawn a sharp reaction from service members. The comments on the military installation’s Facebook page are overwhelmingly opposed to the event and the efforts of the military brass to characterize it as “family” appropriate. Here are just a few of the comments:

The keynote speaker for the event – the so-called “Reverend Drew Phoenix” – told the annual United Methodist Church conference in 2007 that, “My transition to live fully as the male I know myself to be is very personal and deeply spiritual,” Phoenix told the annual conference. “As I continue to transition, to fully claim myself as a male, I find myself coming home to the child God created me to be. I find myself joyful, whole, and peaceful. And I find myself even more effective as a pastor.”

Walt Heyer, another individual who lived the transgender lifestyle and actually went through a surgical gender reassignment surgery – and then regretted it – fundamentally disagrees with the former Rev. Ann Gordon, and the efforts of the U.S. Military to promote transgenderism as “normal”:

MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Has an On-Air Freak out Over ‘Nightmare’ Happening in Alaska [+video]

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Photo Credit: Facebook Last week, there were multiple reports of the frightening-looking arctic lamprey falling from the skies over Alaska like something out of the cult classic, “Sharknado.” And once MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow caught a glimpse of them, she lost it.

Despite its scary appearance, the arctic lamprey is not a danger to people, and how it ended up far from home has a logical explanation.

The state’s Department of Fish and Game says birds are the likely reason the arctic lampreys have been found in backyards and in areas far away from waters where they typically live. From the state agency’s Facebook page: ”The answer is probably gulls. Gulls are picking them out of the Chena River with their bills and then dropping the squirming critters while in flight.” (Read more from “MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Has an On-Air Freak out Over ‘Nightmare’ Happening in Alaska” HERE)

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