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Alaska Natives defy Democrats, champion push to revive Arctic drilling that Biden shut down
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FIRST ON FOX: Democrats sounding the alarm of potential harms to Alaskan communities if their efforts were reversed and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) was further opened to energy development got a very different response than they may have been expecting from a consortium of local Native Americans.
Using the Congressional Review Act, the Senate voted Thursday night to pass a resolution from Rep. Nick Begich, R-Alaska, that formally reversed a Biden-era rule restricting more than 1 million acres to development in the refuge, where Native communities like Kaktovik reside.
Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., notably spoke out on the Senate floor against the effort, saying that Congress rightly established the refuge in 1980 but neglected to properly protect the “very fragile ecosystem” there from development, calling it “America’s Serengeti.”
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The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northern Alaska in an undated photo. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Getty Images)
“So far, we’ve been able to protect the coastal plain and keep it intact as it has been for millions of years, and many Americans had hoped we had moved on,” Cantwell said.
Using “the Congressional Review Act to drill in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge (could) very well backfire on our drilling advocates. If Congress votes to overturn the Biden record of decision today, it would create legal and regulatory chaos, not clarity.”
Additionally, several Democrats and at least one Republican supported a separate bill in April that would designate the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as statutorily protected wilderness, shutting out any development whatsoever.
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“There are some places too special and too amazing and too ecologically and culturally significant to allow them to be permanently despoiled by oil and gas,” House Natural Resources Committee ranking member Jared Huffman, D-Calif., said at the time as chief sponsor.
Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., also led that bill’s introduction along with Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a Pennsylvania moderate from the Philadelphia suburbs.
Despite such claims that development would damage the land and adversely affect those living there, Voice of the Arctic Iñupiat (VOICE) — a group representing the communities in and around the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, were ecstatic at the Senate’s reversal of the restrictive rule.
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“These joint congressional resolutions are a positive sign that congressional decisionmakers support our Iñupiaq self-determination,” VOICE President Nagruk Harcharek said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital.
Harcharek said that the vote is turning the tide on years of “lopsided relations” with Congress and the executive branch.
Our “communities are cautiously optimistic for the people of Kaktovik following this vote — supported by our local and regional leaders — in our Indigenous homelands.”
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Kaktovik Mayor Nathan Gordon Jr., added that the Kaktovikmiut — the community’s residents — overwhelmingly support responsible development projects in their native lands because it provides a prime way for them to provide for themselves and their regional economy.
“Kaktovik is the only community within ANWR, but the federal government and Congress have disregarded our voices for generations,” Gordon said.
A whaling captain who also attended a joint appearance in the region by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Energy Secretary Chris Wright also praised the news, crediting such officials for making efforts to engage with the Native community on issues that impact their lands.
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“Moving forward, we are hopeful to continue this positive relationship built on mutual respect with both Congress and the executive branch,” Charles C.C. Lampe said.
In a statement after the vote, Begich remarked that “America is strongest when Alaska is empowered to responsibly develop its resources.”
Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, also expressed the importance of listening to their state residents’ needs rather than the assumptions of the bureaucracy.
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Murkowski said previous Democratic administrations “paused everything, illegally canceled every lease, and then rewrote the program to ensure that neither leasing nor development would occur.”
“Their worldview was exactly backwards,” she said.
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“Today, we are on the cusp of righting this wrong, rolling back the lawless lock-up of ANWR, and unleashing good-paying jobs and opportunity for Alaska’s working families,” added Sullivan.
Fox News Digital reached out to Cantwell, Markey, Huffman and Fitzpatrick for comment.
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LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Vandalism at Cheyenne High School forced crews to work early Monday to restore the campus HVAC system before classes began, according to the Clark County School District (CCSD).
CCSD officials said the damage occurred over the weekend, but facilities teams completed repairs before 8 a.m. Monday, allowing instruction to continue as scheduled. School staff monitored temperatures during the work to ensure conditions remained safe for students and employees.
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The district said the vandalism also prompted a temporary shutdown of the building’s water fountains while required testing of the school’s water system is underway. CCSD said bottled water is being provided to students and staff while officials await test results, and that all other water systems on campus remain operational.
District officials said there has been no disruption to the school day, citing the quick response from school staff, CCSD Facilities and Martin-Harris Construction.
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Jury convicts Meta of child exploitation in trial
A New Mexico jury has delivered a landmark blow to Meta finding the social media company knowingly harmed childrens mental health and hid what it knew about child sexual exploitation on its platforms, prioritizing profits over safety.
OAKLAND, Calif. – A New Mexico jury found the Meta willfully violated the state’s unfair practices laws, which resulted in child exploitation to the tune of more than a third of a billion dollars.
What we know:
There are many employees inside social media companies working to make them safer, but insiders say market share and money override much of those efforts.
The New Mexico judge read from the jury’s decision. “Did Meta violate the Unfair Practices Act by engaging in unconscionable trade practices act? The jury’s answer is yes,” said Chief Judge Bryan Biedscheid, a New Mexico justice.
The New Mexico Attorney General’s Office proved its case to a civil jury that awarded $375 million in damages. Meta’s response through a spokesperson: “We respectfully disagree with the verdict and will appeal.”
Local perspective:
Larry Magid is a long-time Bay Area tech analyst, journalist, founder of ConnectSafely and a pioneer in online safety, especially for children. “I think that verdict indicates that there was convincing evidence, at least to that jury, that Meta did fail to fully protect children in ways that would guarantee that they would not be approached by predators.”
Kaitlin Soule is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist as well as an author. “I think it means that we’re entering a new era hopefully where the tech firms are gonna be held more accountable for creating safer spaces just like we would in public spaces,” said Soule.
The days of blaming parents are over. “What we’ve been feeling as parents and I can speak for myself as a parent of three, is like somehow, we’re doing bad parenting and we are getting it wrong when really the system was rigged in the first place,” said Soule.
What they’re saying:
Folks we met at the Larkspur Ferry Terminal said this, “I think especially with the rise of all the advertisements and just like trying to steal other people, like younger generations or data, and just like things to make you scroll and stay on longer and I do think that is a problem in our society like addicting,” said Clementine Glineur a young social media user.
“I’ve seen a lot of mental health issues, especially compared in our generation compared to a lot of other ones. And a lot of mental health ones, such as ADHD, which can really affect not being able to focus well,” said Brittanya Green, another young social media user.
Green says fines are in order. “Paying for it is definitely a start to help with the damages,” she said,
The jury surely believed it. “I think the jury system is the only way that we really get to participate in our government. It’s hands-on; you’re in the room, you’re talking to people who make decisions, you’re hearing evidence,” said Amanda Ebey of San Rafael.
Is the punishment significant?
But is it really a meaningful penalty?
“This particular financial judgment is not even a slap on the wrist. If a typical Bay Area family were fined this amount, it would basically be $300 out of their pocket, probably not even a traffic ticket,” said Magid.
But, with so many other states suing, an enormous liability bill would be damaging to both its reputation, share price and loss of freedom from regulation.
“It’s best probably to have federal rules because they’re doing business in every state,” said Ebey.
Magid said many people at Meta are working hard to make it safer, but the bad guys with new ways of being bad are winning the battle so far.
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