Alaska

Five people were killed in a helicopter crash in the Knik glacier, approximately 54 miles east of Anchorage, Alaska on Sunday. The Alaska Rescue Coordination Center was sent to the crash site and found five people dead, among them Czech billionaire Petr Kellner, and one survivor who was transported to a hospital where he remains in serious but stable condition.

The surface air temperature in this year's November was higher than any year before on record.

The temperature anomaly was the highest in much of Siberia, the Arctic Ocean and bordering coastal seas, extending into western and northern Alaska, the far north-west of Canada, the Tibetan Plateau and East Antarctica. Temperature records were also broken in parts of Europe and heatwaves were experienced in parts of Australia.

The average temperature from December 2019 to November 2020 is almost 1.3°C above the pre-industrial level defined in the IPCC Special Report on “Global Warming of 1.5°C”.

Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said she would not support Trump's move to quickly fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court opened by Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death.

Murkowski said in a statement: "I did not support taking up a nomination eight months before the 2016 election to fill the vacancy created by the passing of Justice Scalia. We are now even closer to the 2020 election – less than two months out – and I believe the same standard must apply."

On Saturday, Senator Susan Collins of Maine voiced similar concerns. Collins is locked in a tight re-election battle, while Murkowski’s current term extends two more years.

Seven people have died in an airplane crash as two aircraft have collided mid-air on Friday morning on the Kenai peninsula. Multiple had witnessed the crash from the ground and all except of one person were confirmed dead at the scene. The one surviving passenger has later died on the way to the way to the Central Peninsula Hospital.

All of the people involved have been identified with one of them being state legislator Gary Knopp.

Governor Mike Dunleavy has stated that "throughout his 42 years on the Kenai Peninsula, Gary became well known as an avid outdoorsman, a skilled pilot, and a dedicated public servant. His presence will no doubt be missed by those he faithfully served".

While the Obama administration had banned multiple hunting methods such as the use of doughnuts soaked in bacon grease to bait grizzly bears, the Trump administration has now reversed those bans. The new rules that are stated in the Federal Register and published by the National Park Service policy now state that the practices will be allowed again in 30 days.

In a public letter, scientists warn of a potential tsunami in Alaska, triggered by a landslide in prince William Sound. As warming temperatures have caused a retreat of Barry Glacier in Barry Arm, an unstable, mile-long slope sitting above the glacier could slide into the ocean below. The landslide can be triggered by heavy rain, heat waves or an earthquake. If the slope should hit the water, it could lead to a 30-feet (approx. 9,5m) wave.